Pride of a Quincy
by Within Imagination
Summary: Aizen is sealed and everything is back to being as normal as it can. But what happens when a strange new force seems to be affecting Uryu? It's up to Ichigo to save him from this new threat; but is he willing?
1. Rukia's Warning

Uryu Ishida turned around to take his last look at the city he called home- Karakura. He vaguely wondered if he would ever see it again. It figures; first Rukia was taken to the Soul Society, then Orihime to Hueco Mundo... Now it was his turn. Of course, there was one big difference between his disappearance and their disappearances- he had made sure Ichigo wouldn't ever come to rescue him...

_One week earlier..._

"Hey, Ishida! Would you hurry it up! Geez , you take longer than my sisters in the bathroom! We have to get to school!"

Ichigo Kurosaki was currently standing outside the window of Uryu's apartment, screaming at the top of his lungs for him to get going...as usual.

"Stifle your insults, Kurosaki; I'm almost ready!" Uryu said, as he leaned down from the now-open window.

"Ishida-kun! Watch out! You'll fall!" cried a distressed Orihime from her spot in the background with Rukia and Chad...as usual.

"Don't worry, Orihime. I'll be fine!" he replied as he pushed himself back inside and closed the window. A few moments later, he could be seen coming down the steps to greet them personally...as usual.

"It's about time! Now that I'm a hundred years older, let's get going, Quincy priss," a thoroughly ticked off Ichigo said as he slung his bag over his shoulder and began walking away.

"Kurosaki-kun! Wait up!" Orihime cried as she took off after him. Chad merely grunted and pressed on.

"Cheery bunch today, huh?" Uryu smirked.

"You have no idea... You know, you really should try being a bit more punctual. You are the last house they all stop by before heading to school. It's only polite that you be ready when they get there," Rukia stated.

"And miss out on a fit of yelling from Kurosaki? No way," Uryu said sarcastically as he rolled his eyes and repositioned his bag over his shoulder. "For your information, I've been having a rather rough time waking up nowadays. Having to handle all of the Hollow on my own now is a rather tiring chore."

"That's why I've come back. The appearance of Hollow has been steadily increasing in Karakura once more. It's rather strange- no one can pinpoint where these Hollow are coming from exactly..." Rukia said thoughtfully before turning to Uryu with an angry expression. "And what do you mean on your own? Ichigo hasn't completely lost his Shinigami powers yet; he should be helping you! That baka... He's really in for it now!"

"Take it easy on Kurosaki, Rukia," Uryu said, holding up a hand. "Aizen has only just recently been defeated, and it's really taken a toll on him... He's afraid of losing his powers too soon and not being able to protect the others from an even greater threat, should one appear. I've told him that he should let me take care of all the Hollow so that he can save his remaining power for when it's really needed."

"Really? You'd do that for him? And he still treats you like he does?" a wide-eyed Rukia exclaimed.

"Well, yeah. Things really haven't changed between us. I've forgiven him for what happened in Hueco Mundo, and he knows that. He just wants things to get back to normal. Everyone does. This has also been especially hard on Tatsuki and the others. We all just want things to go back to the way they were. And even though we know that that will never really happen, we can try our best anyway. At least, until the next enemy appears. We need a little vacation time, even if I do have to put up with defeating all of the Hollow."

"Even so, I fear that this 'vacation time' is going to end soon. I don't know what it is, but there's something in the wind... Something just- doesn't feel right. Just be on your guard with all of the Hollow, Uryu."

"Aren't I always?"

And, with a smirk, they both caught up with the rest of the group.

...

Karakura was peaceful at night. The tranquil river barely stirred with the wind, the moon shone bright upon the whole town, and the man-eating Hollow tried desperately to escape its pursuer.

Uryu was awoken a few minutes earlier by a strange reiatsu he recognized to be a Hollow's. He was quickly out the window and on its trail. By the time he found it, it had already done some damage to a home where it apparently sensed food. Uryu drew an arrow and fired, but strangely it dodged somehow.

_ What? This isn't right... No Hollow has ever been able to dodge my arrows!_ thought Uryu.

The Hollow then took off in the opposite direction.

"No, you don't!" Uryu shouted as he followed. Firing more arrows, he finally managed to hit the beast in one of its legs.

"Finally. I must admit, you've led me on quite a chase. You must be a stronger type of Hollow."

"They are."

Uryu was momentarily startled by the voice behind him, until he realized it was only Rukia.

"They are a stronger version of Hollow that the Soul Society has come to define as the Void," said the Soul Reaper as she finished off the Hollow Uryu had been chasing. "I just defeated one myself on the other side of town; and if I'm not mistaken, I can sense another one not too far from here."

"Don't worry, I'll handle that one. Now that I know they're stronger, I can just use my stronger powers on them," Uryu said as he turned toward the direction he sensed the Void was at.

"Good. I'm going back to the Soul Society to inform the Captain of this. I'll be back tomorrow with Renji. Hopefully, among the six of us and Urahara, we can figure out just what the Void is and who is sending them, because we most certainly did not see them in Hueco Mundo."

Uryu hurried in the direction of the Void. As soon as he found it, he was shocked to find that it appeared to be merely waiting for him. It was seated in the middle of a moonlit park- just staring at him. As Uryu recovered from his shock, he began to form his bow. The Void was up and running before Uryu even had a chance to react.

_ Hmm, so the Void is faster than regular Hollow, too._ he thought as he took off after it. As he quickly caught up to it and raised his bow, he was shocked once more when the Void turned to him and said: **_Follow_**.

That one word caught him completely by surprise, and he began to fall back towards the earth.

_ That Void...it- talked? But no- it's mouth didn't open... It spoke- in my mind? But how?_

His thoughts were rudely interrupted as something else forced itself into his mind:

**_ Follow_**.

He came crashing back to reality as he looked up and saw the Void looming over him. He quickly regained his senses and stood up. The Void turned and began to walk away from him. Uryu hesitated for a moment, then followed.

_It seems that the Void can actually think coherently... If not expertly considering it's also apparently telepathic. But why am I following it? I feel as if something is- pulling me after it... But, I'm also following it willingly... This is so strange. I suppose I'm just following it to see if it will lead me to its master. Yes, that's the reason..._

Though another part of Uryu's mind was screaming at him to stop, he seemed compelled to follow the Void, and it was not for the reason that he had convinced himself of. Suddenly, the creature stopped and slowly disintegrated. Uryu looked around. They had moved quite some distance while he had been in his thoughts. He was standing on the river bank opposite the shore of Karakura town. He had never been outside of Karakura before (save for the Soul Society and Hueco Mundo and such), so he had no idea what to do next. A voice behind him, however, stirred him from his thoughts.

**_ Welcome_**.


	2. New Threat: Enter Yurushi

Uryu stood under a lamp-post on the river bank opposite the shore of Karakura town. He had never been outside of Karakura before (save for the Soul Society and Hueco Mundo and such), so he had no idea what to do next. A voice behind him, however, stirred him from his thoughts.

**_ Welcome_**.

He turned around with a gasp. Standing behind him was a figure, though he couldn't quite discern who it was under the lamp-post.

**_ I've been waiting for you._**

_ His voice comes from inside my head, as well! What is he? Come into the light, will you!_

**_ As you wish._**

Before Uryu had time to discern just how the figure heard his thoughts, it stepped into the light. Before him stood a middle-aged man with hair as black as the night itself. In appearance he looked completely human, though Uryu knew better than to take chances and believe that he was human.

_ No human can communicate telepathically. I can only guess that his image is disguised somehow..._

"You're correct. I am disguising my true appearance," the man said.

"What? How- You can talk?"

Uryu tried to stammer all of his questions at once.

"Yes. Judging by your thoughts, I believe that you would prefer I talk out loud rather than in my mind. And as for my appearance, let's just say that you wouldn't exactly live long enough to take in all of my true form."

"But how-"

"Can I read your thoughts? Simple, I am of a more advanced race than yours."

_ Why did I know that was coming? They're always of a higher race, aren't they? _Uryu thought as he rolled his eyes. He quickly called up his bow.

"Listen, sorry to bring this meeting to an end, but I'm afraid I can't let you or your Void roam this city any longer. It's my duty to protect it, and protect it I shall."

As he was about to release a volley of arrows, his bow suddenly dissipated.

"What?" he shouted. When he looked at the man, he noticed that his Quincy cross, the only thing able to conjure Ginrei Kojaku, was sitting in his palm.

"The Void? Hmm, what an interesting name you've given to my children..." the man mused.

"Perhaps I underestimated you, but in turn you also underestimate me. No one besides myself touches Ginrei Kojaku!" cried Uryu as he used Hirenkyaku to appear behind the man.

**_ Be STILL._**

No later had Uryu heard the words in his head before he fell to the ground.

_ What- what is this? I can't move!_

He stared wide-eyed at his now-captor.

"Surely, you have no idea just what you're dealing with right now," said the man as he smiled. "Well, then, I suppose I'll just have to tell you."

With that, he dropped the cross onto the ground next to Uryu's prone form.

_ I don't believe this. I can't even use Ransōtengai! Perhaps one of the others is nearby and can sense my reiatsu..._

"Sadly, no. None of your friends are coming for you. I've blocked your spiritual pressure. That would be why you can't use any of your techniques to help yourself, either. You'll just have to stay put," the man said smugly as he turned away from Uryu.

Uryu scoffed.

"Well, then, what is it you'd like to know first?"

Uryu was about to ask just what the man wanted with him, but decided against it when he remembered something.

"Earlier, you said something about the Void being your children?" he asked.

"Yes. My darling little ones... They were Hollow at first, before I rescued them all from the horrible Soul Reapers trying to subdue them. It's quite amusing, really- I gave them each a small part of my power so that they could defend themselves better, and now they simply won't leave my service. They insist that I am their creator, and they must therefore follow me. It is rather nice, though, having so many that follow you willingly. I must admit, I have no idea how many I've collected as of now," the man said thoughtfully.

"Well, however many you've had is one less now," Uryu stated.

"I know. That is precisely the reason I had one of them lead you here," the man said as he turned to face Uryu again. "I have need of your powers, Quincy."

"Why do I get the feeling this is exactly like the incident with the Bount? You do remind me much of their leader, Kariya," Uryu said.

"Bount? Hmm, perhaps I should see what exactly you mean," the man said as he walked towards Uryu. "You see, I can only read people's thoughts while I'm standing near them, but I can see their memories with a simple touch."

With that, he touched Uryu's head and began to sort through his memories of the Bount scenario. Though the pain was unbearable, Uryu merely grit his teeth and clenched his eyes shut, wincing every now and then.

"Ah, I see," the man said tiredly as he stood up. He seemed to falter somewhat, though Uryu could hardly tell through the hazy pain he was still experiencing.

"You believe that I have need of your _Quincy_ powers. Perhaps I was unclear. I do not have need for you to simply shoot an arrow. I was referring to the incredible amount of spiritual pressure and spirit energy you harbor. You are extremely powerful when it comes to that, you know," the man continued.

"Perhaps," said Uryu as the pain finally left him. "Though I see no good it can do to you unless it's my arrows you want."

"You really do have no idea, do you?" the man sighed. "I suppose that's just the way you are- humans and Quincys alike."

He leaned down to Uryu's level, lifting him up slightly to see him face-to-face.

"My name is Yurushi. I have been looking for a power source strong enough to fuel one of my...instruments. Congratulations, Quincy, you have just the kind of power I need."

"Sorry, but I'm afraid I'm not really interested in being your source of fuel," said Uryu as he smiled.

"So you have sensed your friends' arrival in this world, as well."

"Yes, and it's only a matter of time before they realize that my spiritual pressure is being suppressed and come to look for me."

"I shall give you one week, Quincy; and when I return you shall follow me willingly," the man said, placing a hand on Uryu's head once more.

"I highly doubt that..."

But before Uryu had a chance to say more, he felt an overwhelming exhaustion seep into his entire body... And he knew no more.

...

...ryu...uryu...

_Someone's...calling me..._

...Uryu...Uryu!

_Who..._

URYU!

Uryu awoke with a start.

"Ugh! Finally! I was wondering if I'd have to give you a black eye like I did to wake up Kurosaki that one time! Remember that, Rukia?"*

"Shut up, you idiot! Stop yelling in his ear!"

With that, the body leaning over Uryu was roughly pushed away and replaced by a smaller form.

"Uryu? Are you all right?"

"Rukia?" he said tiredly.

"Yeah. What happened? Why are you still here? I thought you were going to kill that other Void?" the Soul Reaper asked.

"The Void?" he mused. Then he quickly shot into a sitting position as he remembered the events of that night.

"What? What is it?" Rukia asked.

"The Void! It-" Uryu began. Suddenly, he realized that it was perhaps not the wisest idea to let Rukia and especially Renji know what took place on the other side of the bridge.

_ Wait... The other side?_

He looked around.

_ I'm right back at the house where I saw Rukia last! That man...Yurushi...he must have brought me back here... But why? And what did he mean when he said that I would follow him willingly?_

"Uryu?" a small voice asked. Suddenly, he remembered that he wasn't alone.

"Ummm- well- It overwhelmed me... I'm sorry, but it escaped," he lied.

"Ha! I knew he wouldn't be able to take care of it," said Renji from behind him.

"Be quiet! You would have had a hard time with the Void, as well!" said Rukia harshly as Uryu started to get up.

"Are you sure you can get up, Uryu? Aren't you injured?" asked Rukia worriedly.

"Oh! Uh, no... We fought- and it led me back here for some reason... Then it slammed me into the ground... I don't remember anything after that, but I guess it left," Uryu lied again.

_ Geez, I should win the Oscar for my acting..._

"I'm not injured anywhere, don't worry! I just have a headache! It should leave with some sleep, really!" he continued.

_ Great, now I'm starting to sound like Inoue! Could this night get any worse?_

"Well, then, you should get home. Renji and I will take care of any other Void we find," Rukia said.

"Thanks."

"No problem; just don't make it a habit, " Renji replied as Uryu turned to walk home.

As he finally reached his apartment, he practically collapsed on his bed, not even bothering to take off his Quincy attire. He almost started awake in a panic when he remembered about his Quincy cross, but then relaxed again when he felt it on his wrist once more.

_ But why would he give it back to me? And just what exactly does he want me to be the power source of? As if I would ever follow him willingly! None of this is making much sense right now..._

Feeling overwhelmed, Uryu gratefully welcomed sleep's gentle hold when it came.

...

*Refers to the second Bleach movie "The DiamondDust Rebellion" when Renji awakens Ichigo from unconsciousness by punching him in the eye.


	3. The Blossoming Friendship

WARNING: Characters may be slightly OOC (out of character) in this chapter!

...

Uryu was roughly jostled awake by a hand on his shoulder. He was startled at first, until he saw a bright color in the corner of his eye that could only mean one thing...

"KUROSAKI! WHAT ARE YOU DOING IN MY APARTMENT!"

And with that, a pillow was roughly thrown at the figure beside the bed.

"And why did you wake me up at that?" Uryu continued on his rant.

"Okay, okay, geez! Stop your yelling! I come in here to see if you're all right after last night and this is how I get thanked? I thought you were always a stickler for manners, Ishida!" said Kurosaki as he dodged a blow from another pillow. Suddenly, Uryu stopped his pillow-throwing onslaught and simply stared wide-eyed at Ichigo.

"Tch! What's with that look?" the latter mumbled.

"You- came to see if I was all right?" Uryu stuttered.

"Well, yeah! Why wouldn't I? No matter how many times a day you get on my nerves, you're my friend and I care whether you get hurt or not," Ichigo said as he sat down on the floor. "When Rukia and Renji came to my house this morning and told me about what happened last night, I was concerned, especially when you didn't show up anytime during the first half of school-"

"WHAT?" cried Uryu, looking towards his clock. "Ugh, I must have forgotten to turn on the alarm last night..."

"Considering what happened, I'm surprised you even made it back home last night. Oh, and don't worry about school; I told the teachers of all of the classes you missed to just give me your homework for today. It's lunch break now, so if you can actually get ready in under one hour I'll walk back to school with you... if you want..." Ichigo muttered while scratching uncomfortably at the back of his neck.

Uryu merely sat in awe on his bed.

"Who are you and what have you done with Ichigo Kurosaki?" he finally managed to say.

"Hey, look, Ishida! It's just that you're one of my friends and I'd hate to see you get hurt, all right!" Ichigo yelled.

"What? I- I don't believe this! You're still blaming yourself for what happened in Hueco Mundo, aren't you?" Uryu finally realized.

"How could you even say that? Of course, I am! You have no idea how scared I was when I saw you just lying there with Zangetsu impaling your body!" Ichigo blurted out. "I- I honestly thought I'd killed you! And seeing Ulquiorra pull it straight out of you wasn't very encouraging either! And then, to make it worse, I didn't even look your way once Ulquiorra was defeated... I was only worried about if Orihime was all right... I forgot about you while you were sitting there bleeding to death because of me..."

"Kurosaki..." Uryu muttered in awe.

"And then when I learned that you yourself had taken on Ulquiorra just so Orihime could heal me... And that he cut your arm off... What kind of person am I! To get gravely injured and leave it to my friends to save me! To let a Hollow take me over in the middle of a battle and let it injure my closest friends!"

"Kurosaki..."

"What kind of friend am I to let myself forget about one of my friends just because I defeated a strong enemy?"

"Kurosaki..."

"What kind of friend am I to let a good friend take my place at night and get injured defeating Hollow because I'm not strong enough!"

"Kurosaki!"

"WHAT KIND OF FRIEND AM I TO LET ALL THIS HAPPEN TO YOU AFTER WHAT YOU'VE ALREADY BEEN THROUGH!"

"ICHIGO!"

Ichigo turned to finally look into the face he had purposely avoided since leaving Hueco Mundo...and was thoroughly surprised to find tear tracks running down it.

"Stop it... Just stop it! I can't stand to hear anymore!" Uryu cried. "I can't have you keep blaming yourself for my actions! It was my choice to approach your Hollow side! I knew the risks and I did it anyway! I DON'T BLAME YOU!"

The whole room was filled with silence just then- the only sound to be heard were the soft sobs coming from the dark-haired boy on the bed.

"Ishida...Uryu," Ichigo said as he tentatively edged closer to the bed. Then he smirked.

"I never knew you even held so much emotion."

"Well, thanks a lot, Ichigo! I feel so much better now! For your information, I have no idea why I'm breaking down at the moment but I just want it to stop before I embarrass myself even further!" Uryu said as he buried his face in a pillow.

Ichigo sat on the edge of the bed and touched Uryu's shoulder.

"Well, I guess we both had emotions we wanted to get out since Hueco Mundo, huh, Uryu? It seems that place has changed us... We were pushed so hard there, to our limits even. To be back in the real world, back with friends and no one trying to kill us, it just seems to be too much to take in, you know?"

By now, the soft sobs had stopped and Uryu's face was out of the pillow, though turned away from Ichigo. Another silence emerged in the room.

"Uryu..."

"What?" Ichigo asked.

"You called me- Uryu," he replied. Ichigo smirked.

"Well, just so you know, you started it by calling me Ichigo."

"I just did that to get your attention!" said Uryu, sitting up.

"And how did you know it would do that?"

"Simple, it worked when nothing else did!" he replied as he was now face-to-face with Ichigo. Then a strange thing happened: Ichigo leaned back... and started chuckling. Soon enough, Uryu did the same. As the laughter stopped, the two friends both looked at each other.

"I'm kind of glad this happened," said Ichigo. "I was getting tired of yelling at you every morning."

Uryu chuckled again.

"Yeah, me too," he replied.

"So can we stop being Quincy and Soul Reaper and just focus on being- well- friends?" Ichigo asked.

"Yeah, I guess we can. As long as you STOP blaming yourself for what happened in Hueco Mundo."

"Deal. Oh, and no more of this Kurosaki stuff. From now on, it's Ichigo to you," said Ichigo standing up.

"And I suppose I can let you call me Uryu in exchange," Uryu replied, also getting off of the bed.

"You're such a snob."

"You're such a nuisance."

More quiet laughter emerged from the two occupants of the room.

"So, do you think you can get ready in the," Ichigo began as he looked towards the clock, "twenty-three minutes left to get back to school?"

"I think so," said Uryu as he began to walk towards the bathroom. "Just leave my homework so far on the desk over there."

Ichigo grabbed his backpack and began taking out a few papers. As Uryu emerged from the bathroom a few minutes later clothed in his school uniform, he couldn't help but turn to Ichigo and ask, "By the way, how _did_ you get into my apartment?"

...

Even though it seemed a great weight had been lifted from his shoulders after his little chat with Ichigo, Uryu was still greatly worried about Yurushi. He didn't want to tell any of his friends about him, for fear that they may get involved. The last thing he wanted was for them to get involved in one of his problems after all they had already been through, especially Orihime. Rukia and Renji were still there, and promised to help him every night with the Void problem until it was solved.

_ If only they knew what was really going on... But, no, I can't let the Soul Society in on this. They have enough to worry about... This is my problem and I will fix it myself! I will train hard all week long, and when Yurushi shows up again, I will defeat him in battle! Whatever this instrument of his is that he wants me to be the power source of, it doesn't sound too friendly. The only way to solve this is to end it before anyone has a chance to find out!_

With that mind, Uryu was confident that he could resolve the issue on his own. If only he knew how wrong he was...


	4. The Decision

As the days went on and the week came to an end with hardly any disturbances, Uryu thought that, for once, he didn't have and Hollow or Void to worry about.

_ Perhaps Yurushi intends to give me a break until he returns?_

Suddenly, he felt a small surge of spiritual pressure across town.

_...or not._ he thought as he began to head toward the source of the disturbance. Before he could take more than a few steps, though, he felt a hand on his shoulder.

"Hey, Uryu, you didn't honestly think that you would leave us behind after what happened last time, did you? Especially now that Rukia and Renji have gone back to the Soul Society," said Ichigo as he pulled Uryu back a little. Turning around, he noticed that both Chad and Orihime were standing behind him now as well. Both of them were smiling at him-truly, genuinely, smiling.

"Ishida-kun... Please, let us help you. We're not defenseless," Orihime said.

"And these new Void sound like they might pose a problem if they aren't taken care of soon," Chad added.

As Uryu realized that his friends would never abandon him, he couldn't help but smile a little himself.

"You guys..." he started. "How could I say no?"

"Good to know; 'cause if you had said 'no', we would've come anyway," said Ichigo with a smirk. Uryu scoffed.

"Don't I know that," he replied, before adding, "Ichigo."

Ichigo nodded approvingly.

"Well, let's get going then," he said as he called out his soul form and hid his body behind a dumpster.

"Well, that's sanitary," Uryu stated. Suddenly, he remembered the reason why he had taken full responsibility of the Hollow in Karakura.

"Ichigo, wait! I can't let you do this! We don't know when you'll lose your spirit energy for good! You have to stay behind! Chad and Inoue will be enough help for me," he said.

"But I-"

"Kurosaki-kun... He's right. Please, won't you stay behind?" Orihime asked tentatively. Ichigo was about to protest when he realized just how worried they all were. Sighing, he reconnected his soul with his body and stood up.

"Fine. But I want to see you all immediately after the battle is over so that I know you're all right!" he said, pointing to them.

"Of course, Ichigo. We'll meet you at Urahara's; that seems fitting. We should let him know that more Void are showing up again," Uryu said. Ichigo nodded. With that, they were off. Ichigo towards Urahara's shop and Uryu, Chad, and Orihime towards the source of the spiritual pressure.

As they neared the area where the disturbance was, they were surprised to find... nothing. As they looked around where the spiritual pressure was felt the most, they could find nothing that would emit such energy.

"I don't get it..." Orihime whispered. The sun was slowly starting to set, casting its shadows upon the entire area. This was the only reason that Uryu noticed just what they were missing.

"It's over there! Look, you can see it's shadow! It's camouflaging itself!" he shouted. A roar erupted in the air as the creature showed itself and began to run towards them.

"Watch out! It's most definitely a Void!" Uryu said as he dodged a blow.

**_Dinner..._**

Orihime screamed.

"Don't worry! The Void can only communicate through your mind! Put up barriers; protect it!" said Uryu as he shot off an arrow. Orihime and Chad nodded. The Void made an attack towards Uryu, intending to smash him against the wall, but all were surprised when a voice they did not intend to hear shouted "GETSUGA TENSHO!"

Immediately, the Void's left arm was sliced from its body. Not heeding the Void's pain-filled screams, Uryu ran up to Ichigo.

"ARE YOU INSANE! Did you not hear a word I said back there?" he shouted.

"Aren't you grateful in the slightest? I just saved your skin!" replied Ichigo.

"Uhhh, guys?" said Orihime in a small voice.

"What?" they said in unison. They soon realized their mistake, however, as the Void's screaming stopped and it stood up again, looking entirely lethal. The arm had not grown back, but for some reason there was no blood coming from the creature. It appeared perfectly fine.

"What the- That isn't regeneration, is it?"

"Don't be an idiot, Ichigo! It's obviously not regeneration... Perhaps it's some sort of healing technique or a drug in its bloodstream?"

**_Enough talking!_** roared a voice in all of their heads. **_You're simply not worthy enough to eat! It seems I'll just have to kill you!_**

****The Void ran for Ichigo, but Uryu stood in the way. Before he had the chance to fire an arrow, however, the Void whacked him out of the way with little effort. Ichigo stared wide-eyed as everything seemed to move in slow motion. For a moment, he flashbacked and watched as Yammy took place of the Void and smacked Orihime, who had taken Uryu's place, out of the way. Then, as soon as it began, it was abruptly ended as he watched Uryu land on the ground and roll a few more feet.

"URYU!" he shouted.

_No... This isn't happening again... I WON'T LET IT!_

"Why, you-!" Ichigo started as he began running straight towards the Void. Suddenly, a bright arrow hit the ground in between them. Ichigo looked towards its source.

"Stop it, Ichigo! Don't overdo it! I'm fine!" said Uryu as he got up. Ichigo could plainly see the way Uryu was holding himself up, however; it was clear that he was injured.

"Would you stop acting so tough all the time!" he shouted before lowering his voice. "Let me protect you, for once."

Uryu gaped at him for a moment, before turning his head sharply as a piercing shriek filled the air.

"Inoue!" he shouted. It appeared the Void had taken advantage of their little moment and gone for the one who looked the weakest. Chad was immediately at her assistance, attempting to punch the Void with all of his might and make it let go of Orihime, who was currently trying to wrest herself from its hand. Before he had time to do so, however, he felt a searing pain in his head.

**_Be still; sleep..._**

He was lying on the ground before he even heard the last word.

"Chad!" Ichigo shouted as he went to assist his fallen comrade and the still captive Orihime.

"Stop this," Uryu whispered to no one in particular. "Stop this, please!"

**_You can make it stop, you know..._**

_What? That voice! It's-_

_ **Yurushi. Hello, young Quincy. Have you been considering my offer?**_

****_There was no offer! Only you telling me that I would come with you, which I'm still not going to do!_

While Uryu was conversing with the man in his mind, he was abruptly looking in every direction to try to find out where Yurushi was hiding. He remembered that Yurushi could only communicate in someone's mind if he was near them.

**_You will not find me, Quincy. Do not continue to look. You still have some time left before the week is over. I suggest that you use it to wisely say your goodbyes to this town._**

_ No! I'm not leaving with you!_

_ **Really? Are you sure?**_

A sudden cry of pain caught Uryu's attention at that time, and he looked up just in time to see Ichigo land painfully on his back. A sick crunching noise could be heard from the arm that was currently trapped underneath him.

"Ichigo!" he cried. Looking to the Void, ne noticed that Orihime was still being held in its clutches and Chad was still unconscious on the ground.

**_You can spare your friends this pain...Uryu._**

****_No! Stop it! I- I'm not leaving!_

A scream pierced through the air, and Uryu watched with an expression of horror as Orihime was suddenly thrown from the Void's hand to hit the side of a building and fall to the ground, unmoving.

"NO!" he cried.

**_Know this now, Quincy! If you do not come to the bridge on the outskirts of this town tonight, I will unleash all of my children upon your precious Karakura!_**

****With that, the voice was gone. Ichigo was once again roughly thrown aside by the Void after trying to attack it. It seemed he was trying his best to stay conscious. The Void suddenly looked up, as if it heard something, then slowly dissipated, leaving the four teenagers to the last dying embers of the sunset.

"Inoue...Chad...Ichigo..." Uryu whispered.

_All of them- they know the risks when they fight to protect this town. They know that they could die in any battle. But to have them die fighting the creations of a man I never even told them about- I can't let that happen! Besides, they can't protect Karakura if they're defeated, and my duty is to my home and my friends that help me protect it! I'm sorry, Ichigo; but it appears that it's my turn to leave now..._

HIs thoughts were ended when he felt a hand on his shoulder.

"Well, now; this is a predicament."

"Urahara-san."

"I don't suppose you could tell me just what went on here, now, could you?" he asked with a smirk.

"Uryu! What's going on? What happened?" cried Renji as he came running up with Rukia.

"What the- Ichigo!"Rukia was at his side almost immediately. Apparently, he had lost consciousness sometime while Uryu was lost in thought.

"I'm sorry, Urahara-san. It was too strong this time..." Uryu said.

"That's all right. It doesn't appear that they're that badly injured. I'll have Rukia and Renji help me take them to the shop," Urahara replied. "What about you? Are you hurt?"

"No, just very sore," Uryu said as he started to get up.

"You're favoring your left arm. Is it injured?" Urahara asked with a smug expression. Uryu sighed.

"I suppose there's no hiding anything from you," he replied.

_This is for the best. I'll have an easier time tonight if my injuries are healed. I'm so sorry... Ichigo._

...

Now, before you tell me how extremely lame that was, how about you try to think of an excuse for Uryu to leave his friends behind and follow an enemy! That wasn't easy to think of; but it was the best I could come up with! At least I tweaked it a little so it's not entirely the same as Orihime's reason to leave in the Arrancar arc.


	5. Aftermath of the Battle

Ichigo awoke in the darkness of night. Looking around, he made to sit up before a hand on his shoulder pushed him back down.

"You know, you really shouldn't push it. It took Tessai a while to heal your broken arm and ribs."

"Urahara?" Ichigo asked. Receiving a nod, he continued. "What happened? Where are all the others?"

Suddenly, he seemed to remember and bolted straight up.

"The Void! Uryu! Chad; Inoue!" he shouted.

"Relax, they're going to be fine. Uryu's out back now himself. He was a little bruised up and his left arm was bleeding pretty badly, but he's all patched up now," said Urahara, trying to push Ichigo back down.

"I have to talk to him. Now," Ichigo said, leaving no room for argument.

"All right," Urahara said leisurely. "I know how stubborn you youth tend to be, so I won't stop you. Just try to take it easy? I guess Uryu can tell you about the others."

"Fine," Ichigo said as he got up and slid open the door. He quickly made his way to the door leading outside. Once he was out there, he spotted Uryu almost immediately. He was sitting on a stone bench a few yards away, simply staring at the moon. He seemed deep in thought.

"You're awake," he said in a somewhat distant voice.

"Yeah... What about you, though? You don't seem- entirely here," said Ichigo.

"I'm fine. The others aren't, though," Uryu replied. "Neither Urahara nor Tessai know when they'll wake up. Inoue's head was badly damaged when she was thrown into the wall, putting her into a coma; and Chad... he just won't wake up. He has no bodily injuries, yet his mind has retreated into itself, leaving him in a coma as well. Rukia and Renji are with them now."

Ichigo greatly scrutinized Uryu. He still seemed deep in thought, and his voice still sounded very distant. He plopped down onto the bench next to the other teen.

"All right, what's going on?" he asked. Uryu gave a questioning noise.

"Don't give me that! You know something that you're not telling me! You know something you're not telling anyone!" he continued. "Despite your interference, the Void didn't injure you too badly. He could have eaten you, but he only pushed you away! It's as if he couldn't harm you... Uryu, what's going on?"

Uryu merely stared at the ground.

"Uryu! Tell me what's going on! Where are the Void coming from! I know that you know and I want some answers!"

More silence. Ichigo finally had enough and grabbed Uryu's shirt.

"Inoue and Chad are both in comas because of that Void, I got beaten to a pulp, and yet you came out with barely anything! What's going on?" he yelled.

"Ichigo..." said Uryu, still distantly. He seemed to be staring at nothing in particular. "If I do something stupid, like leave without any explanation, would you come and find me?"

"What? What kind of a question is that?" Ichigo asked, releasing Uryu. "Of course I would come after you! I went after Rukia, I went after Inoue, and I would definitely go after you if you were to leave! I worry about you! You're my friend, Uryu! Chad, Inoue, Renji, and Rukia- all of you are my friends! I would come after each and every one of you because I want to protect you! Which is why I want to know what you know! You have to tell me what's going on, Uryu! I want to help you! Please, Uryu; you can trust me!"

"I was afraid you would say that."

Finally, Uryu looked Ichigo in the eyes. Ichigo stared worriedly at his friend as he realized that Uryu's eyes were filled with hopelessness, like him when his mother died, like Toshiro when he realized that Kusaka was still alive*...like he was giving up.

"Uryu... I'm sorry... I didn't mean to- Chad and Inoue- I mean it wasn't your fault! You didn't-" he started before he felt a slight pinprick in his leg. Looking down, he saw a syringe filled with a questionable liquid that was being slowly injected into his body. The hand at the end of the syringe was pale and shaky as it continued to push the liquid out.

"U- Uryu?" questioned Ichigo as his body suddenly started to go numb and spots appeared before his eyes.

"I'm so sorry, Ichigo..." Uryu said, still trembling as he pulled the needle out and set Ichigo down on the ground.

Before Ichigo's eyes closed, refusing to stay open, he could have sworn he saw tears flowing freely from Uryu's eyes.

"Goodbye..."

_Darkness._

...

Uryu swiftly and silently made his way out of Urahara's vicinity and made his way to the bridge. The tears had stopped almost as suddenly as they began. He was leaving the only place he'd ever known as home with no hope of return. He wondered vaguely if Orihime had felt the same way he had when she left for Hueco Mundo. To make matters worse, he had very heavily sedated the only one who would ever think about coming to rescue him. By the time Ichigo would wake up, he would be long gone; and since he had not bothered to tell anyone about Yurushi, they wouldn't know where to look for him.

_At least no one else will be hurt because of me. Karakura is safe..._

Soon- sooner than perhaps he was ready for- he reached the bridge.

"Welcome. I'm glad you decided to come," said Yurushi as he stepped out from the shadows into the same light they had both been under only a week before.

"You really gave me no choice," Uryu said as he glared daggers at the man who was taking him away from his home. "If this is what you believe the word 'willingly' refers to, then you need some serious help in definitions."

Yurushi chuckled.

"How very amusing you are, Quincy, but if you are quite done we really need to get going." he said as he looked towards the sun just barely beginning to rise above the horizon. It seems he was very troubled at the thought of having to be in the sunlight. He also looked quite exhausted, as Uryu could tell from the low light.

"Very well," he replied.

Uryu Ishida turned around to take his last look at the city he called home- Karakura. He vaguely wondered if he would ever see it again. It figures- first Rukia was taken to the Soul Society, then Orihime to Hueco Mundo... Now it was his turn. Of course, there was one big difference between his disappearance and their disappearances- he had made sure Ichigo wouldn't ever come to rescue him.

_It's appalling, really, how tremendously life can change in just one week..._


	6. Realization

Uryu Ishida turned around to take his last look at the city he called home- Karakura. He vaguely wondered if he would ever see it again. It figures- first Rukia was taken to the Soul Society, then Orihime to Hueco Mundo... Now it was his turn. Of course, there was one big difference between his disappearance and their disappearances- he had made sure Ichigo wouldn't ever come to rescue him.

_It's appalling, really, how tremendously life can change in just one week..._

With that, he was pulled into a pathway created by Yurushi and taken to another world...

...

"So, what's wrong with him?" Rukia asked as she stood restlessly beside Ichigo's bedside.

"Too many things to count- OUCH! Come on, Rukia; it was just a joke!" cried Renji as he held the bump forming on his head. They were both currently in the room Ichigo had been taken to after being found unconscious outside.

"He'll be fine. I just can't believe Uryu would do something like this..." said Urahara, also in the room.

"Me, either. It seemed they were really starting to get along... You're absolutely positive it was Uryu who gave him the sedative?" Rukia asked.

"Yeah, I watched the whole thing. I had my reiatsu masked, so he didn't notice me." Urahara replied. "I doubt he would have noticed me even if I hadn't, though. He seemed quite troubled... I wonder why?"

"The real question is why didn't you stop him?" asked Renji.

"I doubt it would have done any good," he replied, taking out his fan. "I couldn't have done anything. But I did send Tessai to mask his reiatsu and follow him, just in case."

"Whatever's going on, I don't like it. Uryu's acting really strange," Rukia mused.

"Good, you worry about Uryu; meanwhile others are worrying about what the heck is actually going on!" Renji yelled.

"Come on, now," said Urahara, fanning himself as usual, "I doubt it will do us any good to get agitated."

"Doubt, doubt, doubt- you're certainly pessimistic today, aren't you, Kisuke?" said a voice from the corner.

"Yoruichi!" cried Kisuke as he sprang up to greet her.

"Yes, and I bet I have the answers to the problem you all are facing with the Void," she said with a sly smile.

"Don't you always?" said Kisuke.

Rukia and Renji merely stared one wide-eyed.

"How does she always know when to arrive when we need her most?" Rukia asked.

"I don't know; but it's really freaking me out..." replied Renji.

"Hey, a feline has her sources," said Yoruichi as she walked over to them.

"Now then, when I discovered your problem with the Void, I decided to do some research. After some time, I found records of many Soul Reapers who had been killed after nearly defeating Hollow attacking the Rukongai. Afterwards, the Hollow they had nearly destroyed seemed to nearly double in strength, defeating any Soul Reaper who tried to take them on. As more and more of these strong Hollow began to appear, the Soul Society decided to put them in a class of their own, so that none of the weaker Soul Reapers would try to fight them. This created the class of the Void."

"Yeah, yeah, we know all that! That's why we're here!" Renji said, before flinching as Rukia held up her hand.

"Forgive him; please continue," she said, setting her hand back down.

"All right, then. After I learned of the Void, I decided to look up any kind of creature that had the power to increase the strength of other beings. This is what I discovered: a very strong race of beings called the Dusk have the ability to give away part of their power to other beings. They have a very great amount of power, so giving away their power to small things such as Hollow has practically no effect on them. They also have the abilities to take the form of a human and look into- even control- the minds of people near them."

"That might be what happened to Chad!" Renji said.

"Yes, and here's another thing: the Dusk were supposed to have died out from a horrible outbreak of disease centuries ago. But apparently, there's still a small colony of them living in a world known to the Soul Society as the Shadow Land. No Soul Reaper has ever been allowed to go there; it's a place of misery and death. The only ones to inhabit it are spiritually aware bounty hunters and outcasts, perhaps the reason the remaining Dusk decided to settle there.

"It's a difficult place to get in and out of, but lately many mysterious beings with great amounts of power have been seen in the Rukongai seeking out Hollow."

"It sounds as if they're planning something..." Rukia said.

"Yes; and I believe that it's the restoration of their clan," Yoruichi finished.

"But how?" Renji asked.

"It won't be easy; that's for sure. The Hollow they're gathering don't have near enough power to save them. Unless..." Yoruichi began. "You say that Uryu is missing?"

"Yeah; it seems he knocked out Ichigo and made a run for it," Renji said, pointing to the figure on the bed.

"But it's not possible is it? They couldn't have built something to such an extent without outside help... Impossible!"

"Yoruichi, just what are you trying to say?" Urahara asked.

"In order to restore their strength enough to rebuild their clan, the Dusk would need to give some of their power to an outside source, in this case, the Hollow, and then use that source to power a machine that would not only give them power, but also suck out the power of wherever the source came from! If they use the Hollow in that machine, not only would the Hollow's power become theirs, but also the power of every member of the Rukongai where the Hollow came from!" she replied.

"That's horrible!" exclaimed Rukia.

"And that's not all! In order to build such a machine, the Dusk would have needed help from many more people," Yoruichi began. "I believe that they may have hired the occupants of the Shadow Land to help them in exchange for receiving some of the power, as well."

"But, how does Uryu fit into all of this?" Rukia asked.

"Think about it- when's the last time you saw a regular Hollow in Karakura?" asked Yoruichi. "Not for at least a week, right? They've all been Void. I believe that one of the Dusk discovered this world while trying to get to the Rukongai! It must have felt how strong Karakura was and decided to use a power source from here to drain all of the town's power and give it to the remaining Dusk!

"But since there are no Hollow that originate from Karakura, the Dusk had to find a power source with enough spiritual pressure to power the machine! And we all know that the only one with that much spiritual pressure in this town is-"

"Uryu!" they all said. For a moment, silence occupied the room.

"It all makes sense now... Uryu must have somehow met this Dusk and been convinced to leave with it," Rukia said.

"But what reason could it have possible given to make Uryu leave his home- his friends?" Renji asked angrily.

"The reason doesn't matter; what's matters is bringing the idiot back home where he belongs."

"Ichigo!" Rukia exclaimed as she watched him sit up.

"I'm all right. My head just feels a little foggy."

"And how long have you been awake?" asked Urahara.

"Long enough to know that Uryu's going to die along with all of Karakura if we don't get to him first," he replied.

"But, Ichigo, what if he's really betrayed us?" Rukia whispered sadly.

"NO!" he shouted. "There's no way he would have left with that Dusk or whatever if he had known that he was going to kill all of Karakura! He's our friend! He probably just felt as if he was the cause of our defeat in that battle with the Void and left to keep us from getting hurt! That idiot!"

The entire room was silent.

"I'm not giving up on him... I'm going to find him, and I'm going to slap some sense into him!" Ichigo stated firmly.

"Why did I know you were going to say that?" Renji asked, getting up. "All right. I owe Uryu anyway, for saving my butt in Hueco Mundo, so I'm going with you."

"Count me in," said Rukia. "Uryu's my friend, too."

"Then it's settled!" exclaimed Ichigo as he stood from the bed. "Yoruichi, do you know just how to get into this Shadow Land the Dusk live in?"

"I do; but first, don't you think it's fitting to say goodbye to your other friends first?" she replied.

"You're right," said Ichigo as he walked out of the room. Yoruichi was about to follow him when she was stopped by Rukia.

"Earlier, you said that Dusk have the ability to change into the form of a human?" she asked. Yoruichi nodded.

"So, then, what does their real form look like?"

Yoruichi took a moment of silence before responding solemnly:

"No one has ever lived to tell the tale."

...

Ichigo stood before the beds of Chad and Orihime, silently wishing them to stay safe and get better while he was away.

"Don't worry," said Urahara as he entered the room. "We'll take care of them."

Ichigo merely nodded before turning his gaze back to the still forms on the beds.

"I know," he said. After a few more moments of silence, Urahara asked:

"What do you think they would say, if they were awake?"

"Oh, I know what they would say." Ichigo replied.

"**Bring Uryu back**."


	7. Deception

Ichigo approached Yoruichi with a look of determination.

"I take it you're ready, then?" she asked.

"Yes," he replied.

"Very well. I can open the path to the Shadow Land, but I must remain behind."

"What? But how are we supposed to get through the Shadow Land without you?" Renji asked.

"Hey, I may know how to get into the Shadow Land, but I have no clue what's beyond that," Yoruichi explained. "Besides, I haven't exactly learned how to bring someone back from the Shadow Land."

Renji gaped at her.

"You couldn't have mentioned that sooner!"

"Look, we don't have the time to argue right now. Uryu, Karakura Town, and the Rukongai districts are all going to die if we don't go now," said Ichigo, placing a hand on Renji's shoulder. "Besides, I'm sure Yoruichi isn't going to leave us in the Shadow Land forever, right?"

"Right," she replied. "According to my sources, a certain amount of spiritual energy is needed to hold open the gate to the Shadow Land. And, if my calculations are correct, I can hold open that gate for precisely twenty-four hours. That should give you enough time to find Uryu and get out of there."

"But, what about all of the Hollow?" asked Rukia. "If they aren't destroyed, then the Dusk will use them to suck all of the power from the Rukongai!"

"Don't worry," said Yoruichi with a smile, gesturing to Urahara. "We've already thought of that."  
Urahara held out a small, round object to Ichigo.

"This is my most powerful explosive device. It has enough power to destroy an entire town." he said.

"I'll take that," said Rukia as she pushed Ichigo, who was already reaching for it, out of the way. She gently wrapped a cloth around it before placing it in her pocket.

"Hey, are you trying to tell me that-!"

"We don't have time, remember?" said Renji as he pushed Ichigo towards Yoruichi.

"Smug little-" Ichigo muttered.

"ANYWAY," began Yoruichi loudly, getting everyone's attention. "Through my research on the Dusk, I learned that as the day that they will use the machine comes closer, they like to keep all of their power sources in one space for safe-keeping. That will make it much easier for you; you simply have to place the bomb in a strategic location and set the timer."

"Yeah, that will make it easier," said Ichigo. "But, how do you know that they'll be using the machine soon?"

"Simple- before I came here, I received word from Soi-Fon that no Dusk have been seen in the Rukongai for the past few days. That must mean that they have gathered enough."

"Then we have to find Uryu... and fast!" said Ichigo.

"Very well. Tessai, did you see the exact spot where Uryu and the Dusk went to open the gate?" asked Yoruichi to the man who had just walked into the room.

"Yes. It's just across the bridge," he replied.

"Good. If I send you in using that same exact spot, then you'll end up in the same place as the Dusk took Uryu. He shouldn't be too far from you, then."

"Then let's get going! I'm tired of just sitting around!" Ichigo yelled.

Yoruichi glared at him.

"Normally, I'd hit you for that," she said. "But given the severity of the situation, I believe it was necessary. Let's go."

...

Uryu walked behind Yurushi as he surveyed the world he had just fallen into. It was completely covered in a thin sheet of fog, and the sky was dull and grey.

_What- is this place? It's very depressing..._

_ **It is called the Shadow Land by those who have not been here before; but to is, it is called home.**_

****_Us?_

_ **You will see soon enough. For now, try not to think about anything sorrowful. The fog will completely swallow you up in your misery. I have seen it happen to many before. They have never returned. The fog only covers one part of this place, however. I brought us to this world this way just in case anyone decides to follow you. If they do, they will be forever lost in this horrible mist.**_

****Uryu was silent after that, too busy trying to focus on pleasant things rather than unpleasant, which was very hard to do considering his current situation. Soon enough, though, he saw the lights of a village up ahead, and the fog slowly lifted. The sky was still the same dull grey, however. As he neared the village, he noticed many people sitting outside of coarsely built houses. A few of them looked dangerous, as if they would cut the throats of anyone that came within three feet of them; but many of them looked very miserable, staring at him with depressed looks. Of those people, many were elderly, looking as if they would die any minute. They were all dressed in the warmest rags they could find, covering almost everything but their faces in the naturally cold climate. But as he looked around, there was one thing that caught his attention.

_That's strange... There are men and women, but no children?_

_ **We have not the energy to reproduce anymore.**_

_What? You mean you're one of them?_

_ **Yes. I am what you would call a Dusk, and these are my brothers and sisters- all that are left of our clan.**_

_ Your clan?_

**_ We were many, once- long ago. But then, the Soul Society decided that it was best to get rid of us. They saw us as a threat to their existence because of our power. They feared us, and in turn destroyed us- much like the Quincy clan, don't you think?_**

****_What?_

_ **We were destroyed because the Soul Reapers feared our interference with the balance of the worlds- same as the Quincy clan! Where is the justice in that?**_

****_There is none. That is precisely why I still loathe Soul Reapers, despite my recent siding with them._

_ **Exactly. If we continue to live this way in this dreadful world, we shall all perish. That is why we need you and your powers- to help us rebuild our clan. With you powering our machine, we will gain enough energy to reproduce once more! We will be able to restore what once was!**_

****_I wasn't there to help the Quincy clan when they needed it, but I won't make the same mistake with the Dusk. If you had merely told me this in the first place, you wouldn't have had to threaten my friends to make me come here._

_ **Perhaps... But would you have come if I told you that your body, being human, will not be able to withstand the pressure that our machine will put on it?**_

****_What? You mean that I will-_

_ **You will die, Quincy. But, in return, you will give the energy needed to rebuild our clan. Besides, you don't have a choice, anyway- my threat is still present.**_

****_Very well. As long as nothing happens to my friends or my home, I will do as you ask._

_ **I knew you would see things my way, Quincy.**_

****Yurushi suddenly stopped, and looked up.

"This is where it will happen," he said. Uryu instantly knew what he meant. Before them stood a tall machine in the shape of a cylinder. It nearly resembled a tower.

"This is where I will die," he said.

"Try not to think of it that way," Yurushi said. "Now then, in order for you to be able to power this machine, I need to give you some of my power. It will be slightly painful. Are you ready?"

Uryu nodded.

"Very well. Once we are finished, you will be allowed to rest."

As pain exploded through Uryu's head and he felt power being forcefully pushed into him, the only thing that kept him going was the thought that not only were his friends and home going to be all right, but he was also going to save a race that the Soul Reapers had tried to exterminate like the Quincy.

Little did he know, however, that Yurushi had been cleverly lying to him that whole time...


	8. Mist of Sorrows

Okay, so a few of you either thought that Uryu was being too naive in the last chapter or that twenty-four hours was not going to be enough time for the trio to find Uryu and destroy the Hollow and the machine. Just telling you now that, although this story is WAY off from what I had originally planned, I still know just how I'm going to do things. So, hopefully, all of your questions will be answered in this chapter (which I SWEAR will be the last chapter with information on the Dusk! The rest will be strictly on the trio or Uryu; you just need to know the following information or else you will be a little confused later on).

...

Ichigo, Rukia, and Renji arrived in the Shadow Land quickly after Yoruichi opened the gate. Her last words still rang in Ichigo's ears:

_ "There is one more thing that I have to tell you about the Dusk- while it's true that they were killed off by a disease, it was their own fault. Centuries ago, the Dusk lived in the Rukongai and had no qualms with the Soul Reapers, but after a young Dusk was found murdered outside of the gates of the Gotei 13, the Dusk immediately blamed the Soul Reapers. The true cause of the child's death was never discovered, but I can assure you that it was no wound from a zanpaktou that marred his body. But the Dusk could not be swayed. They began to attack any Soul Reapers that went outside the walls into the Rukongai. When they realized, however, that they couldn't destroy us one by one, they decided that they would have to attack the Gotei 13 itself._

_"All Dusk, even the ones that were not trained for battle, marched to the gates of the Gotei 13 and defeated the guard there at the time. Once they were inside, they immediately began killing and destroying anything they could get their hands on. This also included the research department. Since the Gotei 13 weren't exactly prepared for such an action so soon, they were scattered and unable to stop the catastrophe before it began._

_ "The research department was working on a way to keep Soul Reapers from catching disease at that time. In order to test this, they had to keep deadly diseases on hand along with willing Soul Reapers that had not been injected with the cures yet so that they could experiment with them. These diseases were handled with much caution and kept in an extremely secure room. But, when the Dusk destroyed the research department, that room was breached, and all of the diseases were set loose upon the Soul Society. Since many of the Soul Reapers were prepared for this and injected with a serum that would keep them from catching any of the diseases kept inside the research department, hardly any of them died. The Dusk, however, were not prepared. That night was filled with the dying screams of thousands of Dusk as they caught the diseases and were killed almost instantly. The Gotei 13 had suspected that a group of Dusk had escaped the Soul Society before being infected, but they were never sure._

_"Just know this: Dusk are EXTREMELY formidable opponents. Do NOT let your guard down around them. They will try to deceive you and push into the deepest, darkest corners of your mind. They will try to make you believe their lies by using memories from your past. You must NOT let them in. Also, as I mentioned before, no one has ever lived to tell what the Dusk's true form is. Whatever it is, however, must be very taxing on their strength, or else they would have used it when they battled the Soul Society. It must be a sort of last resort that they turn to- a final form, you might say. DO NOT let them use this on you, or I fear that you might end up the same as all the others who have seen the true form of a Dusk."_

Sighing, Ichigo looked down at the small object in his hand given to him by Yoruichi before they had gone through the gate.

_ "Don't forget that I can only hold this open for twenty-four hours! Use the timer to make sure that you get out of there in time!"_

"Twenty- three hours and fifty-two minutes left, guys. Let's do this," he said. Rukia and Renji both nodded beside him.

"Okay, but where exactly do we start?" Renji asked. "This place is covered in fog... I can barely see!"

"You're right," said Ichigo. "We can't afford to get lost in here; it would waste time."

There was a slight moment of awkward silence. They all knew what they had to do, but they couldn't exactly bring themselves to do it.

"But why do I have to hold HIS hind?" Renji cried.

"Just shut up and get a move one! I don't exactly like the situation, either!" shouted Ichigo as he tugged Renji along. Rukia's tiny hand was encompassed by Ichigo's other hand as they all trudged through the fog.

...

"We have guests," said a voice from behind Yurushi.

"No doubt they've come for him," said the Dusk as he eyed the sleeping Quincy.

"We can't let them take him from us! He and his town will be the main source of our power regeneration! If he's taken then-"

"We have not the time to deal with such nuisances; I agree," interrupted Yurushi. "Send one of the bounty hunters after them, if you must. Though I highly doubt they'll make it through the mist."

"As you wish. Of course, you could just send me..."

"No," stated Yurushi. "No Dusk such as yourself can be spared at the moment. Come, now, we must prepare before he awakens."

And, looking towards the Quincy once more, they both left the room.

...

"I don't like this fog... It just keeps getting thicker and thicker..." said Rukia as she grasped Ichigo's hand even tighter.

"Does anyone else find it a bit hard to breathe in here?" asked Ichigo.

"Not me, that's for sure; I'm too busy trying to think of ways to clean my hand after it gets out of your sweaty grip!" Renji complained.

"You know what, that's it!"

"You guys, stop it! Fighting isn't getting us anywhere!" cried Rukia as she tried to break them apart.

_You'd better not try to stop them... What if you end up hurting them instead?_

"What?" asked Rukia. "Hey, did you guys hear that?"

"I didn't hear anything," said Ichigo as he sat on the ground and crossed his arms.

"Me either," said Renji did the same thing, only facing away from Ichigo.

_Hurting them...Hurting them...Just like Kaien..._

Rukia gasped.

"Who said that?" she cried.

Ichigo and Renji stared at her in shock.

"Umm, Rukia? Are you all right?" Ichigo asked, taking her hand once more. Rukia stopped to listen again, but the voices were gone.

"Yeah, I'm fine, I guess," she replied, letting out a breath.

"We don't really have time to waste on a break. I'm sorry, Renji, about what just happened. This fog is really ticking me off, though." said Ichigo, extending a hand to Renji after he got up.

"Yeah, me too," said Renji, accepting the hand.

"Let's just get out of it, quick," said Rukia, looking around. "I don't like this place at all."

"Same here."

_Do you not like it because it reminds you of the night your mother died?_

"What the- Who told you about that?" Ichigo asked, releasing Rukia's hand and turning towards Renji.

"What? I didn't say anything!" he said.

"What? Then who-"

_You couldn't protect her...Just like you can't protect your friends... The Quincy..._

"SHUT UP!" cried Ichigo.

"Ichigo!" Rukia shouted as she grasped his shoulders and shook him. He seemed to fall out of his stupor and looked at them.

"What just happened?" Renji asked.

"I don't know... I just- Never mind, let's get going; time's wasting," he replied as he took their hands again. Just then, the timer fell off of Ichigo's kimono and rolled a few feet away.

"Ugh, I'll get it," Renji said as he let go of Ichigo's hand and walked the few feet. As he stooped down to retrieve the timer, however, something stopped him dead in his tracks-

_If you are able to retrieve this, why could you not retrieve Rukia when she was in prison awaiting her execution..._

"Huh?"

_You let her down...She trusted in you...But others had to convince you to help rescue her...You wouldn't have done it otherwise..._

"Who's there?" he shouted, looking around. Suddenly, the fog around him got thicker and thicker.

"Renji!" Rukia cried.

"It's trying to separate him from us!" Ichigo said as they ran towards him.

"Rukia! Ichigo!" Renji shouted.

"He's getting farther away!" Rukia shouted as they ran faster and fought through the fog surrounding Renji. Suddenly, she realized something.

"Ichigo, you heard the voices, too, didn't you?" she asked.

"What? You mean you did, too?" he asked.

"Yeah, and now, so did Renji... But after you took my hand the voices disappeared."

"And after you shook me, the voices went away, too."

They both gasped as realization dawned.

"Renji! You have to take my hand!" cried Ichigo as he reached into the fog. "It's the only way! We're stronger together! Take my hand!"

Time seemed to stop just then as Rukia scanned the fog, looking for any sign of her dear friend, and Ichigo reached as far as he could into the fog. Suddenly, a hand latched onto his and grasped it tightly. Ichigo pulled with all of his might and soon dislodged the owner of the hand from the fog around him.

"Renji! Are you all right?" asked Rukia.

"Yeah!" he replied, then looked at Ichigo. "One thing's for sure- I'm never going to complain about holding your hand again! Thanks, Ichigo."

"Don't mention it," he replied, before noticing something. "Oh, no! The timer!"

"Don't worry!" said Renji as he held it up and gave it back to Ichigo. "I got it before- well- all that happened."

Ichigo and Rukia breathed a sigh of relief.

"Let's stay together, now; don't let go," Rukia said.

"Right," said Ichigo as he scanned the distance.

"Wait... Is the fog- lifting?" he asked. "Do you guys see those? Lights! Lights in the distance! I think we've finally made it out here!"

With that, they all ran towards the lights that they could now see. The fog thinned out greatly before they finally found themselves out of its icy grip. They all breathed a sigh of relief as they collapsed on the ground and breathed deeply.

"Finally- fresh air!" said Rukia as she took it all in.

"Sorry to cut our break short, guys, but apparently we spent more time in there than we thought. We only have twenty hours and 47 minutes left!" said Ichigo.

"What? But how! That's not possible!" cried Rukia in despair.

"Don't worry! I'm sure we'll still be able to make it in time! Now that we're out of that fog, I'm sure things will be much easier!" said Ichigo, trying to keep his friends optimistic.

"Well, I'm very sorry to disappoint you, then," said a voice. "Because, sadly, this is where your journey ends."


	9. The Nameless Bounty Hunter

"Sorry to cut our break short, guys, but apparently we spent more time in the fog than we thought. We only have twenty hours and 47 minutes left!" said Ichigo.

"What? But how! That's not possible!" cried Rukia in despair.

"Don't worry! I'm sure we'll still be able to make it in time! Now that we're out of that fog, I'm sure things will be much easier!" said Ichigo, trying to keep his friends optimistic.

"Well, I'm very sorry to disappoint you, then," said a female voice. "Because, sadly, this is where your journey ends."

Ichigo abruptly turned to face the one who would dare to kill his optimism.

"And just who are you?" he asked as he observed the strange woman. He could discern hardly anything, however, since she wore a long robe with a hood.

"My name is unimportant. I have been sent here to eliminate you from this world if you were to survive the mist, and I always collect my bounties," she replied.

"Bounties?" Rukia asked.

"Yes," she replied, glaring at her. "Surely, one would think that you would know a bounty hunter when you see one."

"I knew it! The Dusk promised you some of their power didn't they?" Ichigo said. "Well, you won't get it! If I know anything about crazy maniacs- and believe me, I do- then there's NO way that they'll give you a single bit of their power! They're playing you! It happens all the time!"

The woman merely stared at him with a blank expression.

"Yurushi does not lie to us bounty hunters. I have seen his heart. I know when people lie and when they tell the truth. It is a gift that I has blessed with, but that also had me cast out of my own world and into this one." she stated.

"Yurushi?" asked Ichigo.

"Yes, Yurushi- the Dusk's current leader. He is the one in charge of this entire operation."

"What? Then that means... Yurushi is the one who took Uryu!" Ichigo realized.

"Uryu? Do you mean the Quincy boy I saw with him?" asked the bounty hunter. "You know, he will be very distressed to learn that you have come here. I read him for only a second and knew that he truthfully believes you to have no idea where he is or how to get to him. I, the same, have no idea why you have come here- to this place. It will only end up to be your fate."

"Well, can't you read us?" said Ichigo as his hair covered his eyes. "We've come here to do one thing and one thing only. We've come here... to save our friend! To save Uryu!"

His eyes bore determination as he looked at the bounty hunter and reached for Zangetsu.

"And we'll stop anyone who gets in our way!"

The huntress sighed and reached into her long robe.

"Then I truly am very sorry. You truly believe that you can defeat me and rescue your friend, but the truth is that your goal is simply impossible. Even if I am defeated, you cannot take on the Dusk. You will lose."

"Well, we'll see about that, now, won't we?" said Ichigo with a smirk as he finally unsheathed Zangetsu.

"Why do you hesitate to withdraw your weapons?" asked the huntress to Renji and Rukia.

"You would be at a disadvantage," Rukia replied. The bounty hunter chuckled.

"It has been a while since I have been taken so lightly. You may fight me along with your friend, if you wish. Or else, he would be at a disadvantage."

Rukia and Renji exchanged glances with each other and Ichigo. With a curt nod from the latter, they both unsheathed their weapons, as well.

"Very well. Now we shall begin," said the huntress as she pulled her hand from where it had been in her robe and jumped back. Immediately, metal flashed in the dim light of the Shadow Land as many small objects were thrown at the trio.

"Kunai! Those are her weapons?" mused Rukia as she dodged the few that came at her. As they hit the ground, however, the ground was lit up in flame that extinguished almost as quickly as it flared.

"Flaming kunai?" yelled Renji as he dodged the ones coming at him. "Is that even possible?"

"No, Renji, you're just imagining things... OF COURSE IT'S REAL, YOU IDIOT!" Ichigo shouted as a few more flashed behind him.

Looking up, they realized that the huntress had jumped into the air again and was preparing another onslaught of her kunai. They heard her speaking quietly in a strange language before throwing more at them. This time, however, whenever the kunai hit the ground it covered everything within three feet around it in a sheet of ice.

"What?" yelled Rukia, as her leg became trapped in one. Quickly using a weak kidou to dislodge herself, she turned toward the huntress once more. The hood had fallen from her head, revealing her face and hair. Rukia's eyes went wide as she took in the tattoos on her forehead and her shimmering silver hair.

"Everyone be careful!" she shouted. "This woman- she isn't human! The kunai she's throwing are just regular kunai, but she's filling them with some of her power before she throws them at us! She's obviously more than just spiritually aware!"

The huntress frowned somewhat as she landed once more.

"How very perceptive of you," she said. "There are more worlds out there than you as humans could ever imagine. I come from a world where such powers as these are common. Unfortunately, being spiritually aware in my world is just as uncommon as it is in your world, also adding to my exile from it."

With that, she leapt into the air and reached into her robe once more.

"Leave now, and I shall not harm you! I shall get my share of power whether you die or not!"

"Never!" cried Ichigo, jumping into the air as well. "We're going to defeat you... and then we're going to save Uryu! Getsuga Tensho!"

The power blasted from Zangetsu and towards the bounty hunter. She quickly whispered a few more words from the strange language she spoke from earlier and held up her hands. The entire blast was deflected and came straight back at Ichigo. He flash-stepped immediately and the blast instead hit the wall of a cliff near them.

Ichigo appeared beside Rukia and Renji.

"What the-" he started, before a sword came straight at him.

"Howl, Zabimaru!"

The long sword came crashing down on the huntress's and forced her back.

"Thanks, Renji!" he said.

"No problem," he said with a smirk. "Now we're even!"

The huntress regained her bearings quickly and glared at them.

"What's the matter? Have you run out of your little knives? Are you ready for a real fight now!" taunted Renji.

She gave him a very irritated look as she used her sword to help her sit up and began speaking once more in the strange language of her world.

"Ummmm, Renji? I don't think that was a very good idea..." Rukia said.

Suddenly, a large blast of white-hot fire burst from her sword and straight towards Renji. He flashed-stepped away with a yelp.

"I think you made her mad," said Ichigo as he gaped at Renji's now smoking kimono sleeve.

"Well, I guess it's true then... Hell DOES hath no fury of a woman's scorn..."

Rukia thumped him on the head.

"And you couldn't tell that from me?" she asked.

A battle cry caught their attention before he could respond, however, as the huntress charged at them once more chanting in her language.

"No you don't!" cried Renji. "Bankai!"

In a large puff of smoke, Renji was ready for a real fight as he readied his new weapon. In a flash, he and the huntress were engaged in a fierce battle of power and strength.

"You're not leaving me out of this!" Ichigo yelled. "Ban-"

"Ichigo, don't!" cried Rukia. "We don't know what it could do to you in your current- condition. Just stick to your other fighting patterns, all right?"

Ichigo lowered Zangetsu and, with a crestfallen look, agreed.

A cry of pain came from the direction of the current battle. Renji had managed to hit the huntress and sent her crashing into the cliff wall behind them.

"Good. Well then, I think it's time Sode No Shirayuki and I finally entered this battle."

With that, she ran towards Renji. Ichigo followed after her, still looking slightly dejected.


	10. The Plan

"First dance, Sode No Shirayuki!"

Immediately, ice encompassed the huntress' legs, effectively pinning her to the ground.

"Ichigo! It worked! Now!" cried the user of said ice zanpaktou.

"Right! GETSUGA TENSHO!" he cried. A surge of power left his blade and raced towards the bounty hunter in a desperate attempt to end the battle. But it was not so. As the huntress once again spoke quickly in her language, so used fire to dispel the ice around her legs.

Ichigo swore as his attack merely hit the side of the cliff once more.

"I got her!" Renji yelled as he extended his zanpaktou in Bankai form. It nearly encompassed her, but after she spoke once more in her language, she formed a shield of fire around her. Using the last of her kunai, she managed to hit Renji's zanpaktou as he was stunned, pushing it away from her.

"Would you stop that! I thought you were out of those!" he yelled as he readied Zabimaru once more.

"Renji! Ichigo! It's apparent that our attacks aren't working, and since Uryu's not here to slap some sense into you knuckleheads, I guess I'll just have to do it!" Rukia yelled. Immediately, Renji and Ichigo's wide eyes were on her.

"It's obvious that attacking this bounty hunter with force isn't going to end this battle anytime soon, and time is something we don't have! We have to find some way to keep her from using her language!"

"So what you're saying is that we just have to find a way to shut her up?" Renji asked.

"Yes; it's the only way to stop her from using her power!" Rukia replied.

"Fine! Then let's get this over with!" Ichigo cried as he raised his blade again.

The huntress spoke in her language again, this time creating a shield to cover the entire front of her body.

"What!" Ichigo yelled as he swore again.

"And that's what you get for making attack plans in front of the enemy!" Renji shouted at Rukia. "Geez, and you call us knuckleheads!"

Rukia thought for a moment before her eyes widened.

"Ichigo! I have a plan, but I need your help!" she shouted before running over to him and lowering her voice.

_What are they planning?_ thought the huntress. _Why are they not attacking? I'll just have to keep up my guard..._

Suddenly, a battle cry tore through the air and her shield weighed down upon her as a zanpaktou was thrust at it.

"If you are trying to break through my shield and silence me, it is in vain!" she grunted as she held up the shield against the sword. "You cannot get through!"

She cried out as she was pushed back a few feet, her arm twisting.

"I tire of these games!" she said angrily. "It's time we end this!"

She began to speak in her language again, before her attention was averted by a slight movement above her.

"Yes, it is," agreed Rukia, who had flash-stepped to her current position on the wide-eyed huntress' shoulders, as she held a piece of cloth torn from her kimono onto her opponent's mouth. "Ichigo!"

"On my way!"

All time stood still as the huntress suddenly felt something pierce through her from the back. Looking down in shock, she stared at the black sword that now protruded from her chest... right where her heart was. She gasped as the cloth was removed from her mouth and the weight taken from her shoulders.

Ichigo yanked Zangetsu from the huntress' body and watched her fall with a slight 'thud'.

"I'm sorry," he said as he sheathed his sword. "But we've come to save a friend, and you were in our way."

With that, the trio turned and began to walk away.

"I- thank you."

They all turned abruptly to find the huntress still lying on the ground, but smiling despite the pain and the blood leaking around her.

"At last, I have found someone worthy enough to defeat me in battle... At last, I can leave this dreadful realm..."

"So what's stopping you?" asked Renji blankly, before receiving an elbow in the ribs by Rukia.

"Please- I must tell you... Your friend... I know where he is..." she gasped.

Ichigo walked over to her and knelt down.

"He is being held- near the machine that is to give the Dusk their power..." she began before taking a deep breath. "In the center of this realm- is where you will find the machine- your friend will be in a building- nearby."

She gasped once more.

"So why are you telling me this?" Ichigo asked as he looked down at her with a slight frown of confusion. She smiled once more.

"If I- cannot have such power... Then no one can..." she breathed. "Think of it as- a reward... for defeating me..."

...and she was silent. The nameless huntress was no more.

Ichigo stood up from his crouch and threw a silent prayer into the air before turning his back once more and walking towards Renji and Rukia.

"All right, here's the plan," he said. Rukia and Renji leaned in to listen more attentively.

"We're here- in this world- not only to save a friend, but also our homes and loved ones. We're here to destroy the machine that will take their lives if we don't stop it first. I can still see the lights of a village in the distance, but we still don't know how close how close they are to the center of this realm. We only have thirteen hours and 23 minutes left, so we have to make the most of this time.

Rukia, Renji- once we get there I need you two to take the explosive and set it up on the machine. We can only hope that the Void they're using as small power sources are still being kept there; and if they are, then chances are there will also be a lot of guards, but I'm pretty sure you guys can handle them."

"And what about you?" asked Rukia.

"Well, isn't it obvious? I'm going to go get Uryu."

...

The first thing Uryu noticed when he awoke was a slight pain in his head. He winced slightly as he willed his eyes to open.

"Are you awake, Quincy?" asked a voice.

He gasped and looked to his right, where he found an unfamiliar Dusk staring down at him.

"Good, then. For a time, I was afraid that Yurushi was too hard on you and your human body."

Uryu frowned slightly at the insult as he sat up.

"Well, I don't think it really matters. I'm just going to die anyway," he replied.

"Didn't he tell you not to think about it that way?" the Dusk asked.

"What other way is there to think about it?" asked Uryu as he retrieved his glasses from a nearby table and pushed them onto his face.

"Suit yourself," said the Dusk as he turned around. "There's still some time before the machine will be fully prepared and ready. I must go and help with the preparations. You are to stay here in this room and silently await one of us to come and retrieve you; do you understand?"

"Yes," replied Uryu.

"Good."

And he was gone.

Uryu stood up and walked around the room. Trying the door, he found that it was locked.

_And what would you do anyway? You have no idea how to get out of this world and even if you did, you wouldn't leave... You're doing this for your friends... for Ichigo... So that they'll be safe..._

He sat down on the floor nearby, rested his head on his knees- hoping to alleviate some of the pain he still felt- and silently awaited what was to come.


	11. The Plan: Part Two

Ichigo swore loudly as he, Renji, and Rukia continued to run towards the lights they saw.

"How far away are those stupid lights!" he yelled.

"We should take a break, exhausting ourselves isn't going to do anything to help us," Rukia panted beside him.

"We can't! We only have twelve hours and 58 minutes left!" Ichigo argued. "We just have to keep going! They shouldn't be far now!"

"But no matter how far we run, it's not making any difference!" Renji shouted. "The lights aren't coming any closer!"

A chuckle to their left caught their attention.

"Who's there?" asked Ichigo.

"You humans really are pathetic. A nuisance- but pathetic."

"Shut up!" yelled Ichigo. "Who are you?"

"Hello, there," said a man appearing from the thin fog around them.

"Are you here to stop us, too?" asked Ichigo. "Well, forget it! We just don't have the time!"

The man put his hands up.

"Now, now, no need to be so hostile. I wasn't trying to provoke you. I've merely been here for the past forty-five minutes trying to slow you down. But by now it was just so funny to see you running around in circles getting agitated that I just HAD to laugh."

Ichigo growled.

"So that's how it is, huh?" he asked. "You've been stalling us this whole time! What are you!"

"I, my friend, am a Dusk. Yurushi naively believed that a mere bounty hunter could stop you, but I never thought so. And look, now you're here, getting closer and closer to our finest achievement," said the man. "By now, however, I am most certainly being missed. I managed to slip away and deter you for this long, but longer and I would have exhausted what little power I have left."

"What do you mean?" asked Renji.

"Well, you see, I've been using my power to confuse your coordination, making you think that you were running straight while you were really just running in circles. Quite an amusing thing to watch, I assure you."

"Well, I'm glad you're happy, because you're about to die!" cried Renji, unsheathing his zanpaktou.

"Oh, I don't think so. Sorry, but I really must be going now," said the Dusk. "Continue on if you wish, but it is too late. If you keep going, then you will only watch your friend die as he grants us our power... and then we will kill you! The Reign of the Dusk is approaching!"

And the Dusk was gone.

"What! Where did he go?" yelled Ichigo.

"Ichigo! Don't you think we should focus more on getting to Uryu?" Rukia yelled. "The Dusk said that it was almost time for the machine to be used! Now that we don't have him holding us back, we have to get there fast!"

"You're right!" Ichigo replied. "That guy also said that we were getting close to it, too!"

"Well, let's go then! I'm getting impatient!" cried Renji as he started running towards the lights once more. Rukia and Ichigo followed at his heels.

...

Uryu's head shot up as he heard the door open.

"It's time, young Quincy," Yurushi said solemnly.

"Very well..." said Uryu as he got up.

As they walked outside the door, Uryu saw that the machine had a staircase wrapping around it.

_That's strange... That wasn't there before. Is that what they've been preparing all this time? Seems rather trivial..._

"I assure you, the staircase is anything but trivial," said Yurushi in surprise. "I'm hurt that you would write off all of our hard work like that. They were built for you, after all."

"For me?" asked Uryu, trying not to be irritated at the fact that Yurushi had read his mind once more.

"Yes. You see, you are our main source of power; naturally, you will be at the peak of our machine."

"Oh..." said Uryu, looking down.

"Now, then, what's with that face? You're going to be rebuilding a clan that-"

"Yurushi!" cried a voice.

"There you are! Didn't I tell you that you weren't to leave? You were needed! It took longer without you!" said Yurushi angrily.

"Forgive me, but I was trying to stall the intruders! They defeated the bounty hunter you sent after them, so I was forced to try to delay their interference. However, they are now quickly closing in on our position! They will be here in minutes!"

Yurushi swore quietly.

"We must be quick then," he said taking Uryu's arm. "Come, Uryu."

"Intruders? What intruders?" he asked. Yurushi sighed as he began to pull Uryu up the stairs.

"I suppose you would have found out soon enough. You're friends have come here to rescue you."

"WHAT? No! That's not possible!" cried Uryu. "I made sure-"

"Well, apparently not, because they are here now!" Yurushi snapped.

"You sent a bounty hunter after them? You promised you wouldn't hurt them!" Uryu yelled as he freed his elbow from the Dusk's grip. They were now about a fourth of the way up the machine.

"But they are trying to interfere!" said Yurushi, grabbing Uryu's arm in a death-grip that would surely bruise him later and dragging him farther up the stairs. "And if they continue to interfere, then I will make sure they are annihilated!"

"No!" cried Uryu, struggling once more. Yurushi stopped and spun around, a look of pure anger in his eyes.

"Listen, Quincy," he hissed. "If you continue to struggle, then so help me I will paralyze you like I did before!"

That ceased Uryu's struggling once more.

"All you can do is pray that your friends will not interfere so that they will not be harmed," he said as they finally reached the top.

In truth, it was a lot closer to the ground than Uryu originally thought. He could still see the ground and the people walking around it quite clearly beneath him.

_Please! Ichigo! Don't come for me! The last thing I want is to see my friends hurt again! Please!_

Whether his prayer would be answered or not, however, was still to be decided.

...

"Finally! We've made it!" whispered Ichigo quietly as they all silently crept into an alley of the village they were in.

"Look, that must be the machine," Rukia said, pointing to a tower in a courtyard far down from their current position.

"Yeah, and it looks like their leading all of the Hollow to stand around it! This is going to be easy! You two just have to sneak over there and set the bomb to explode while I go and find Uryu!"

"Found him," gulped Renji, pointing. "And I don't think we should really explode the machine just yet if we want to bring him home alive."

Ichigo and Rukia gasped as they saw a Dusk pulling Uryu up the stairs surrounding the machine.

"That must be Yurushi..." Renji mused.

"Oh, no! We're too late? We can't be too late!" Rukia gasped.

"We're not," said Ichigo. "We just need a new plan- and fast."

The others nodded.

"We only have ten hours and 37 minutes left, so we have to make the most of this time and figure out a good plan before they start up the machine. It's obvious that we can't blow it up while Uryu's still up there, so we have to find a way to get him down- undetected- somehow..."

"Oh, yeah, Ichigo; great plan," sneered Renji. Rukia pushed him into the ground.

"What he means is that it's easier said than done."

"Yeah, I know; but I just don't know what else to do... Uryu's always the one that makes the plans..." Ichigo said.

"Well, then," Renji said, picking himself up, "We just have to make a plan worthy enough to be one of Uryu's!"

"That's easier said than done!" Ichigo argued.

"Not really, we just have to use logic..." Renji trailed off as both he and Ichigo turned to stare at Rukia.

"What?" she asked.

"Well, you are they one with the most logic at this time..."

"At this time!" Rukia yelled.

"Shhh!" they both said as they put their hands over her mouth. A Dusk came by and looked around, but managed not to spot them. They gave a sigh of relief, but Rukia was still somewhat agitated.

"Okay, I'll try to come up with something, but it won't be the best since we're so pressed with time..." she said.

"Don't worry! Any plan will do!" Ichigo assured.

"All right, then. You two need to be quiet and let me concentrate for a minute," she replied. Ichigo and Renji looked up towards the tower again and silently gasped... Uryu and Yurushi had reached the top.

"This isn't good," Renji whispered to no one in particular. They both turned when Rukia suddenly gasped.

"I've got something!"


	12. The Plan: Part Three

Ichigo and Renji looked up towards the tower again and silently gasped... Uryu and Yurushi had reached the top.

"This isn't good," Renji whispered to no one in particular. They both turned when Rukia suddenly gasped.

"I've got something!"

"Well, good! It had better be something fast!" Renji said worriedly.

"It is, don't worry!" she replied as they leaned in once more. "Okay, so since what they're using is a machine, then it must have an off switch! We just have to find that switch, turn off the machine, and grab Uryu. All the while, one of us will be placing the bomb!"

"I thought that Uryu was the switch? He's the power source, right?" asked Renji.

"Right, but there must be some part of the machine that will be sucking his power away and giving it to the Dusk! He can't do that himself!"

"Good point!"

"But still, that's not very well thought out..." Ichigo said.

"Well, it's all I can come up with at the moment! I'm a bit pressured, you know!"

"All right, all right! Sorry! You're right; it's the only chance we have," Ichigo replied. "Let's get going, and stay out of sight! We'll have to fight them all eventually, but I'd like to have Uryu safely with us again before that happens!"

...

"Are you finished admiring the view?" asked Yurushi, startling Uryu slightly.

"I-well- yes," he replied, hanging his head.

"Good," said the Dusk as he took Uryu's arms once more and led him to two tall poles in the center of the platform on the machine.

"You are to keep your hands on these rods at all times, understand?" he asked.

"Well, that's easy, considering your chaining me to them," snapped Uryu as he stood between the rods, eying his wrists as they were shoved into connecting restraints.

"Forgive me, simply a precaution in case..."

"In case my friends come for me..." whispered Uryu, silently praying that that wouldn't happen.

"Yes."

After checking to see that the restraints were secure, Yurushi stood back.

"Now then, I am going back down. There I will turn on the machine; there is nothing for you to do on your part except for keeping your hands on the rods. They will drain your power and send it into the Dusk. It will be not be a very long process, though it may seem that way to you. It will be very painful."

"I was expecting as much," said Uryu.

"Don't worry; as I said before, we will not harm your friends unless they interfere."

Uryu merely stared at the ground.

"Very well, then. It was a pleasure knowing you, Uryu," said Yurushi as he turned around. Uryu merely scoffed as he watched him start to descend the stairs.

"I'm sure it was..."

...

As the trio finally reached the machine, they watched from the shadows as the Dusk near Uryu begin to walk back down the stairs.

"He's coming back down! That means we're running out of time!" Ichigo whispered as he and the others began to circle the machine silently, trying to find the switch that would turn it on.

"It's a good thing all these Void are here. They're covering our reiatsu and hiding us from sight," said Rukia, maneuvering her way around a few more.

"Yeah, it's like they don't even know we're here..." Renji agreed.

"They're probably under some sort of hypnotism," said Ichigo solemnly. Rukia put a hand on his shoulder.

"It's going to be all right. We'll get to Uryu before it's too late," she reassured, even though she was not even sure herself.

"He's on the ground now!" whispered Renji harshly. The trio watched as the other Dusk began to gather around the one they saw.

"Yeah, that's gotta be Yurushi," said Ichigo with hatred. Rukia sighed.

"As much as I hate this, it would seem that we will have to wait until this Yurushi turns on the machine," she said.

"What! Are you insane! Uryu's still up there!" Ichigo yelled, although still quietly.

"I know that; but it's our only option!" replied Rukia. "We can't find the switch, so we just have to wait until Yurushi uses it! Then we'll know where it is and how to shut it off!"

Ichigo growled a little, before agreeing with Rukia.

"Yeah, I guess you're right."

The trio edged slightly closer to Yurushi's position in order to keep a better eye on him, but still not give away their presence.

"Rukia, Renji, you two have to go and find a place to set up the explosive," said Ichigo.

"What? No way!" Renji argued.

"Look, I highly doubt the Soul Society would send you here just to save a friend! They sent you here to destroy the place, right? That's your job. My job is getting Uryu out of here alive," Ichigo stated. "And I intend to; so you guys don't have to know where the switch is. I'll shut down the machine and I'll get Uryu down; all you guys have to do is set the bomb."

"Fine, but we'll be back soon! You're not doing this alone, got it? We want to help. Uryu's our friend, too, and though we may have been sent here for other reasons, we want to save him, too," Rukia said as she began to move away.

"Yeah, so save us some Yurushi to massacre, got it?" Renji agreed, going towards Rukia.

Suddenly, they all stopped to stare as a bright light came from the tower and the Void surrounding them. No one could not have been distressed at the loud scream that tore through the air as Uryu's body was engulfed in a blue aura. Rukia had to forcefully stop Ichigo from running towards the stairs.

"What are you doing? Uryu's power is being sucked out of him! We have to get up there!" he yelled. Thankfully, their voices were muffled now by the sound emitting from the loud machine.

"Running up there isn't going to do us any good if the machine isn't turned off!" Rukia argued.

"But he hasn't moved from that spot!" Renji said. "There was no switch involved!"

"Wait, look at his hand!" Rukia said, pointing to an object currently grasped in the right hand of the Dusk. His thumb was pressing down on a button protruding from said object.

"It's not a switch! It's a trigger! We have to get his hand off that button!" Ichigo yelled, grabbing at his zanpaktou.

"Wait, Ichigo! We can't just go out there! Can't you see all the Dusk?" Rukia yelled.

"Can't you see Uryu's in pain!" Ichigo argued.

"We just need a distraction first!" she said.

"I think I may have something."

Both Ichigo and Rukia stared at the now smirking Renji.

"What-"

But they were cut off as Renji slashed through one of the surrounding Void. Immediately after it disintegrated, there was a small fluctuation of power before it returned to normal, although slightly weaker than at first.

"The Void! Of course!"

"Great thinking, Renji!"

"This will weaken its power and provide the distraction you need!" Rukia yelled as she tore though one, as well. "Get ready and look for any opening to Yurushi! We're going to keep killing as many Void as we can!"

"Don't worry about us!" Renji said as Ichigo was about to argue. "We can take care of any Dusk that may come our way!"

After a short while, Ichigo finally nodded and, crouching to the ground so that he would not be spotted when the Dusk went after the others, looked for an opening so that he could kill Yurushi and free Uryu.

At first, it seemed that the Dusk were unaffected by the Void's deaths; but after more and more of them were killed, finally Yurushi ordered some of the other Dusk around him to see what was going on.

_Now's my chance!_ Ichigo thought as he waited for the Dusk to pass him before jumping up and running towards Yurushi, drawing his zanpaktou in the process. With a battle cry, he made to kill Yurushi, but the other Dusk surrounding him came at him before he had the chance. Fighting with all of his strength, Ichigo was determined to get to Yurushi as fast as possible- no matter what.

...

Back in Karakura town, people began collapsing in the streets as a bright, blue aura lit up the sky. They felt their energy slowly being drained from them as if some outside force was controlling their bodies. Children began crying and parents tried desperately to reach them even in their current paralyzed states, while other people simply stared at the sky as they felt their lives slowly draining away thinking: _What's happening? Is this the end? Why now all of the sudden?_

Similar experiences were being shared in the Soul Society as hundreds of Soul Reapers fell to the ground, paralyzed, and felt their spiritual pressure being pulled from them and into some other source. Head Captain Yamamoto lay wide-eyed on the floor as he realized that the trio sent into the Shadow Land must have failed. Many other captains also had this in their minds as they began to panic at their own helplessness.

_Ichigo, Rukia, Renji... Why?_

..._  
_

The pain that Uryu was experiencing at the moment was simply unbearable. It felt as if he was being torn apart over and over again as his spiritual pressure was cruelly being ripped from his body and sent into those of the Dusk. He looked down to the ground only to find Yurushi smirking at him as he held down the button on the device creating his pain. Suddenly, his hazy, pain-filled awareness was diverted to the side as he saw Ichigo desperately hacking his way through Dusk after Dusk, trying to get to Yurushi.

_Same as always, aren't you, Ichigo..._

Uryu thought as he closed his eyes. He knew that he had to open them- had to warn Ichigo that he would die if he interfered- but he was in too much pain to do much of anything. He could already feel himself slowly slipping away...

_Please... Be careful, Ichigo._


	13. Power Loss

Ichigo gave another cry of frustration as he continued to slash his way to Yurushi.

"You may be gaining strength, but you're nowhere near good enough to beat me, yet!" he yelled as he blindly tore through another Dusk. Yurushi was the only one on his mind right now- and killing him for trying to harm his friend.

He was covered in cuts and bruises from the Dusk trying to stop him, but he paid them no heed as he continued to make his way towards Yurushi. Sparing a glance at his comrades, he realized that Rukia and Renji were having similar troubles. With all of the Dusk attacking them, they couldn't concentrate on finding someplace to set the bomb.

He swore loudly as he finally raised his zanpaktou and yelled: "Getsuga Tensho!"

Power spilled forth from the blade and cut through the Dusk in front of him, pushing away and Dusk running up to him from the sides.

"Finally!" he yelled as he closed in on Yurushi.

...

Yurushi had his eyes closed as he felt energy return to him in full blasts. It was enthralling, and he didn't want to miss a moment of it. He was vaguely aware of the fighting around him.

_Just hold them off until your strength returns, my fellow Dusk! Do not be defeated by these mere Soul Reapers!_

It was at this moment however, that he felt a slight pressure on his hand- the hand holding the switch to operate the machine. He opened his eyes slightly and glanced down, only to find a black sword in the place where his right hand should have been. His eyes widened as he felt blood flow freely from his wrist and watched his right hand fall to the ground- the switch falling from its grasp.

Ichigo looked up with a triumphant smirk as the machine stopped its loud humming and the blue light faded from around Uryu. This seemed to startle the Dusk somewhat as they looked up in confusion. Ichigo turned his gaze to look upon Yurushi, who was still staring in horror at the empty space where his hand should have been.

"Are you the one who took Uryu?" he asked.

The Dusk merely snarled at him.

"I'll take that as a 'yes'. Well, all right, then; I'm about to show you what happens when someone threatens my friends!" he yelled as he brought his zanpaktou back up.

**_BE STI-_**

"I don't think so!" Ichigo yelled as he quickly brought up walls to keep the voice out of his head.

_Well, what do you know; Yoruichi's advice actually worked..._

Suddenly, all of the Dusk began to cry out and fall to the ground, writhing in pain as they clutched their heads.

"What the - is going on!" Ichigo yelled, looking towards Renji and Rukia as Yurushi grunted and fell to a knee, holding his head as well.

"It must be the power loss! They can't handle it!" Rukia yelled back as a few of the weaker Dusk around her died instantly.

"Power loss... URYU!" Ichigo yelled as he snapped his head up towards the Quincy still at the top of the machine. What he saw made his eyes grow wide- Uryu was slumped forward, suspended only by restraints around his wrists... and he wasn't moving.

"Go get him," said Rukia, who had just flash-stepped beside him. "I have to set the bomb; we've already found a place. Renji! Get over here and keep an eye on Yurushi!"

"All right," said Renji as he flash-stepped over, as well, "But I don't know what good it'll do. Why not just kill him?"

"We still need a few answers from him," she replied. Renji merely nodded and assumed a position to watch the Dusk as Rukia and Ichigo sprinted towards their destinations.

Ichigo practically flew up the stairs towards Uryu.

_Come on, Uryu! You'd better be all right when I get up there!_

As he finally reached the top, he ran over to the motionless figure, breathing hard.

"Uryu! Uryu!" he yelled, shaking him slightly. He received no response, however. Eyeing the restraints, he quickly released them, catching the Quincy before he could hit the ground.

"Come on! Wake up!" he yelled, trying to coax some sort of response out of his friend. Once more, he was only met with silence. He began to shake the figure even more.

"Uryu! Come on! Don't do this to me!"

He took the wrist of the still unresponsive teen and listened carefully for a pulse. He sighed with relief as he felt one, though it was considerably slow.

"No! Uryu! You can't die now! I won't let you!" he cried as he slammed a fist into the ground. "Not after we came all this way to take you back where you belong... You just can't... WAKE UP, YOU IDIOT!"

Finally, Ichigo was rewarded with a slight muffled groan.

"Uryu!" he cried. "Hey, come on! Open your eyes!"

But he got no other response from the teen.

"URYU!"

"Shut up! Yelling at him isn't going to help him! " Rukia yelled.

Ichigo looked to the side. There stood Rukia, looking nowhere near as one was supposed to look after ascending a long flight of stairs.

"How did you get up here?" Ichigo asked.

"I flash-stepped; didn't you?" she replied.

Ichigo sat dumbfounded for a minute.

"Uh... Yeah, sure I did..." he finally uttered.

"Anyway," said Rukia, walking toward them. "I'm fairly certain I know what's wrong with Uryu."

She placed a hand on said Quincy's arm and closed her eyes, trying to concentrate. Ichigo looked on quizzically.

"Yeah, I was right," she finally said, looking up. "His spiritual pressure is GREATLY diminished- his energy is exhausted. He's not going to wake up until it's regenerated."

"And when will that be?" asked Ichigo.

"As much as he's lost, it could take years," said Rukia. "Unless..."

"Yeah, there'd better be an 'Unless'!" Ichigo stated.

Rukia looked at him with an annoyed frown before continuing.

"Unless we give him spiritual pressure from someone who has the same spiritual pressure as he does. Of course, that will be rather hard considering he's a Quincy."

"Don't worry; I know just the person," said Ichigo as he slung Uryu onto his back and stood up. "Come on; we have to get back home as soon as possible. I haven't checked the timer lately, but I'm sure we're pushing it. Let's g-"

"_You fools_..." said a voice. "You pathetic SOUL REAPERS!"

With that, they looked towards the ground to find Yurushi slowly standing up, clutching his bloody wrist and glowing in a sickening green aura.

"Renji! Get up here!" cried Rukia. The astonished Renji, who had been staring wide-eyed at the Dusk who had only moments ago been prone on the ground, quickly flash-stepped to the others.

"I don't know what happened!" he said.

"I do," said Ichigo, staring grimly at the scene before him. "He's calling on his final form..."

Rukia and Renji stared wide-eyed as they, too, realized this.

"But how? All of the other Dusk-"

"I know, but Yurushi is their leader, that must mean that he was the strongest out of all of them. When the machine was stopped suddenly, he must not have been affected all that much. He must have been playing us all that time while he pulled together enough energy to release his final form..."

"This spiritual pressure- it's insane..." Renji stated as the green aura became even brighter.

"Remember what Yoruichi said," Rukia reminded solemnly. "The Dusk's final form is extremely formidable, though also very exhausting. I don't think that we should fight this head on, but simply let it exhaust itself until we can defeat it easily."

"That's cowardly!" Renji complained.

"Perhaps, but it's the only way that we can get out of here alive... And get Uryu out of here alive," she replied, looking at Ichigo, who still had Uryu on his back. He nodded to her and walked over toward the two rods where Uryu was restrained, gently propping the Quincy up on one of them.

"Don't worry, Uryu; we're going to kill this guy, then we're going to take you home," he said determinedly before standing and turning towards his comrades.

"For Uryu," he said, unsheathing his zanpaktou.

"For Uryu."

...

Yes, I know I'm making the characters slightly OOC. Sorry about that, but if you ask me this is how friends should act towards each other.


	14. The Final Battle: Yurushi's True Form

"This spiritual pressure- it's insane..." Renji stated as the green aura surrounding Yurushi became even brighter.

"Remember what Yoruichi said," Rukia reminded solemnly. "The Dusk's final form is extremely formidable, though also very exhausting. I don't think that we should fight this head on, but simply let it exhaust itself until we can defeat it easily."

"That's cowardly!" Renji complained.

"Perhaps, but it's the only way that we can get out of here alive... And get Uryu out of here alive," she replied, looking at Ichigo, who still had Uryu on his back. He nodded to her and walked over toward the two rods where Uryu was restrained, gently propping the Quincy up on one of them.

"Don't worry, Uryu; we're going to kill this guy, then we're going to take you home," he said determinedly before standing and turning towards his comrades.

"For Uryu," he said, unsheathing his zanpaktou.

"For Uryu."

With that, all weapons were drawn and ready for battle.

"At lease this is going to be slightly easier; he _is_ missing his right hand after all."

"Don't underestimate him, Renji," Rukia reproached.

All three of them stared at the spot where Yurushi was currently standing, watching as the green aura dimmed. A cloud of dust, however, still blocked their view of the Dusk.

"Just come out already..." Ichigo said, getting impatient. He didn't dare look at the timer, but he still knew that they were running out of time.

Finally, a figure could be seen standing within the dust cloud. The trio gasped as the cloud was blown completely away, staring into the pitch black, pupil-less eyes of what had once been Yurushi. His black hair had grown out, long and straight against his contrasting pale white skin. In his left hand was a long black whip, though most of it was hidden by the long sleeve of his kimono, containing various designs of black on its main blood red color. His face held a confident smirk that could send even the bravest of hearts fall to despair.

"Now... You will feel my wrath as never before!"

His voice had an edge to it that wasn't present before as he cracked his whip in the air.

"Shut up and die!" Ichigo yelled as he, Rukia, and Renji jumped from the tower, flash-stepping quickly to the ground. Ichigo, however, flash-stepped right in front of Yurushi, drawing back his zanpaktou before thrusting it at the Dusk.

"Ichigo! No!" Rukia yelled.

Yurushi countered his attack in the blink of an eye, grasping the weapon with his whip before it suddenly exploded in fire. Ichigo quickly flash-stepped away.

"What the- What was that?" he yelled.

Yurushi merely grinned.

"You remember that huntress I sent after you before, don't you?"

"Yeah, she told me to beat your pathetic face into the ground!" Ichigo scoffed.

"Did she now? How unexpected of her. And here I was sure that she was most loyal to me... Oh, well, I suppose it would enlighten you a bit more on the situation if you knew that I had trained with her to learn just how to use her power."

"Impossible! You can't just pick up someone else's power like that!" Renji yelled.

"Oh, yes I can. You Soul Reapers never found out, did you? Not only can Dusk grant their power to another being, we can also pull power from another being and put it into ourselves. All I needed to know was how to use said power. Sadly, though, I cannot pull power from another being while in my final form, or else I would have done so already," Yurushi replied.

"But I didn't hear you say anything!" Ichigo yelled.

"That's right! The bounty hunter had to say a few words in order to use her power!" Rukia added.

"You simple-minded fools..." Yurushi chuckled darkly. "I do not need to say words. I am a Dusk; I have twisted the power so that all I need to do is use my mind to trigger its use."

"It can't be!" Renji yelled.

_Well, that rules out defeating him the same way we defeated the bounty hunter._ Ichigo thought as he put on a look of determination and readied his zanpaktou once more.

"You guys stay back!" he said. "This one's mine..."

Rukia sent him a disapproving glare, but he didn't care about the plan they had made. All he cared about now was defeating Yurushi as quickly as possible.

"Very well, then; why don't you just try to fight me?" Yurushi smirked, lifting his whip slightly.

"I will!" Ichigo shouted as he swung his blade at Yurushi once more with a battle cry. But Yurushi deflected the blow once more with his whip, somehow finding a way to slash Ichigo across his arm in the process.

"Ichigo!" Rukia yelled. Yurushi simply chuckled as Ichigo flew backwards, surveying the damage done to his arm.

"You really should just quit and give me back the switch," Yurushi said, holding out his hand.

Ichigo looked down at the pocket where he had put the device after retrieving it from the mutilated hand.

"I don't think so," he said menacingly. "It's going to take more than a tiny cut like this... to take me down!"

With that he flash-stepped behind the Dusk and slashed at his back. Yurushi was prepared for this, however, and turned to counter the blow with a whip now encased in ice. As his zanpaktou hit the ice, Ichigo barely had time to react before a second whip left a large gash across his midsection. Swearing loudly, he flash-stepped away once more.

Once he had a full view of Yurushi, he noticed a whip now hanging from his decimated right arm.

"Surprised? I would guess. You see, I never told you that Dusk can create a new weapon from every injury they sustain in their final form. In my case, I created a new whip from my right hand which you so cruelly decided to rob me of." Yurushi explained darkly. "You see? You cannot injure me, no matter how much you try. I suggest you merely give up now."

"No way!" Ichigo yelled as he raised his zanpaktou again.

Rukia held an arm in front of him.

"Listen, we don't really want to fight you," she said. "If you just let us destroy this machine and return to our world with our friend, we will let you live here in peace once more."

"I'm sorry," Yurushi replied after a short silence. "But my people have suffered far too long because of me, though they do not know it. I have to set things right..."

"What are you blabbering on about?" Ichigo asked, annoyed.

"It was my fault that the Dusk went to war with the Soul Reapers! It was my fault that so many Dusk were killed that night! It was my fault that we were forced to leave the Soul Society and live in this horrible place! I- I just hated the Gotei 13 so much! My wife was a Soul Reaper; when she died in battle against a Hollow far away from the gate of the Gotei 13, no Soul Reapers even thought to go and look for her... Or retrieve her body. When I finally found her, she was unrecognizable to me, though I knew it was her from a bracelet I once gave her. I was so mad that I- I-"

"...you killed that young Dusk and left him outside of the gate..." Rukia whispered, her eyes wide. Ichigo and Renji looked just as shocked as her to realize this.

"Yes," said Yurushi, a single tear slipping down his face. "I was the cause of all the death that happened that night, and now I will be the cause to fix it! It was never meant to come to this, but I must rebuild my people! I MUST RIGHT MY WRONGS!"

With that, he raised his whips and came at Ichigo.

_His fighting pattern is off... He's not using his head and fighting us more blindly than before._ thought Ichigo as he deflected numerous attempts of slashing his body. Finally, he managed to inflict a large wound on Yurushi's chest, but it simply turned into armor that shielded the area from any more attacks. Ichigo swore in his head and decided to use a different tactic.

_I wonder just how many times he can regenerate his weapons._

He found an opening and sent his weapon straight down toward Yurushi's right whip, succeeding in cutting it off. Yurushi grunted, then using the whip that was still encased in ice, deflected a blow Ichigo attempted to deliver to his head. As they each struggled to gain the upper hand, Yurushi raised his right arm slightly and created a new weapon, a large cleaver, which he used to swing at Ichigo while he was still occupied.

"First dance, Sode no Shirayuki."

Waves of ice exploded from Rukia's blade and stopped the ax from going any further.

"You're right, Yurushi of the Dusk. You do need to atone for your wrongdoings, but you're going about it the wrong way," she said solemnly. "Look around you! All of the other Dusk have perished from the machine meant to save them!"

As Yurushi complied, he finally noticed all of the bodies surrounding them, most of them belonging to Dusk...

"NO!" he cried, breaking Rukia's ice with fire. "There is still time! I- I can still save them! You- You're in my way!"

Yurushi gave a battle cry as he swung his blade at Ichigo once more. Ichigo deflected it with his zanpaktou, though he could do nothing to the whip coming toward him. Rukia, however, handled that, flash-stepping into the fight and catching the whip with her sword.

Ichigo soon thrust Yurushi's cleaver away from him and cut into Yurushi's leg. The Dusk stumbled slightly, though maintained his balance as he began to form armor to protect that area as well. Rukia cut through his whip, though he simply formed a new one.

"There! You see!" he cried hysterically. "I will only grow new weapons! You cannot defeat me! I will just-!"

But his rant was cut off as suddenly a blade appeared from behind him, effectively slicing his head clean from his body. Renji was seen behind the Dusk as it's body hit the ground, it's head rolling a few feet away.

"Try making a new weapon out of that," he said grimly, before sheathing his zanpaktou.

Rukia and Ichigo stared at him in shock.

"What? You didn't expect me to stay out of the fight forever, did you?" he asked innocently.

"Renji- you have a knack for showing up at just the right time," Rukia sighed as she, too, put away her zanpaktou.

"Yeah, and I didn't even have to use my 'Bankai'! For crying out loud, this guy was a push-over!"

"No, Renji, he wasn't," Rukia said sadly. "He may have been a tougher opponent if he had been in his right mind, but he was in too much of a pitiful state to even realize this. He was long gone way before he even started fighting us. He truly was a sad sight; I must admit that I pity him even now."

"Speak for yourself," said Ichigo, as he pressed a hand against his still bleeding arm. "You didn't get hit with that whip of his..."

"Oh! That's right! I'm sorry, Ichigo!" said Rukia as she observed the large gash on his body as well. "Let's go back up to get Uryu; I'll heal you up there."

"But, can we be sure that he's really dead?" Ichigo asked, eyeing the remains of the Dusk.

"No, we can't," Rukia replied solemnly. "But for now, this is good enough. We simply have to heal you, retrieve Uryu, set a timer on the bomb, and get out of here. It doesn't matter if he's still alive or not, as long as he's incapacitated."

"More like decapitated," Renji joked. Rukia sent him a glare.

"Come on, let's get back up to Uryu. Ichigo, how much time do we have left?" she asked.

Ichigo took out the timer. Suddenly his eyes went wide as he viewed it.

"What is it?" Rukia asked worriedly.

Her questions were answered, however, when quiet beeps began to sound from the object in Ichigo's hand. Both Rukia and Renji looked down in horror at the device as it confirmed their greatest fear... They were out of time.


	15. Expect the Unexpected

"Come on, let's get back up to Uryu. Ichigo, how much time do we have left?" Rukia asked.

Ichigo took out the timer. Suddenly his eyes went wide as he viewed it.

"What is it?" Rukia asked worriedly.

Her questions were answered, however, when quiet beeps began to sound from the object in Ichigo's hand. Both Rukia and Renji looked down in horror at the device as it confirmed their greatest fear... They were out of time.

"What? That's- that's not possible!" Ichigo yelled.

"We were so careful... How could this have happened?" Renji whispered. "What do we do now?"

"What we came here to do," Rukia replied. "We have to finish our job here; we have to set off the bomb."

Renji and Ichigo looked up at her.

"There's nothing else we can do," she stated. "Let's go get Uryu."

Once they had flash-stepped to the top of the machine once more, Ichigo went straight to Uryu while Rukia began to heal his injuries.

"He's not getting any better!" he shouted after feeling the Quincy's pulse.

"I know. I told you that his spiritual pressure was exhausted didn't I? Unless we can get the same spiritual pressure flowing through him again, he won't wake up." Rukia replied sadly. Ichigo started.

"What? You mean he'll- he'll-"

"He'll die."

"No!" Ichigo yelled. "Even after all this? No! He can't just die!"

"We were too late. It doesn't matter anymore; we just have to do what we came here to do." Rukia said, finishing up with Ichigo's wounds.

"What about Uryu! I came here to take him home! I can't even do that now!" Ichigo yelled in frustration. "I couldn't stop you, Rukia, from going back to the Soul Society to die... I couldn't stop Inoue from going to Hueco Mundo with that Arrancar... And now- now I couldn't stop Uryu from coming here with that Dusk... Now he's going to die because I couldn't protect him!"

"Ichigo!" Rukia cried. "There's nothing we can do for him now! The most we can do is destroy the machine that took his life!"

When Ichigo looked up at Rukia, he realized that she had tear tracks running down her face.

"Uryu was our friend, too," Renji whispered. When Ichigo looked towards him, he noticed that he appeared to be trying to hold back tears of his own.

"It was our fault, too, that we didn't make it in time," Rukia finished for him. "Let's get far away, then we'll set off the bomb and be rid of this miserable village and its machine."

After a long silence, Ichigo finally nodded and pulled Uryu onto his back once more.

They walked slowly, since there was no need for them to hurry anymore. When they had been walking for a while, they all finally realized something.

"Hey, the fog is gone..." Renji stated.

"Yeah, I was realizing that, too," Ichigo murmured.

"Probably because the Dusk were the ones keeping it here. Now that they're all dead, it must have vanished," Rukia mused.

"Yeah..." Ichigo agreed, turning around. "I think this is far enough."

Rukia nodded and took out the trigger to activate the bomb; they all watched as she pressed down on the button. Moments later, a large explosion filled the air. The trio watched silently as the machine and the town collapsed and disappeared in a large cloud of smoke.

"It's done, then," sighed Rukia. "Hopefully, the Shadow Land will have no other occupants to breathe it's cruel air."

"Except for us," stated Renji.

Silence followed those words. No one dared to say a thing for a long while.

"Come on," said Ichigo, turning from the devastated town. "Let's go back to where the gate was."

"Why? Our time was up over an hour ago-" Renji began.

"I don't care!" Ichigo yelled. "I don't know about you, but I refuse to give up, so I'm going back!"

With that, he began to walk away, repositioning Uryu on his back slightly. Rukia and Renji looked at each other with solemn faces before following behind him.

As they neared the area where they had entered the Shadow Land, the trio noticed light spilling from an opening in the cliff-side... right where they had come in.

"The gate!" Renji cried.

"It's still there!" Rukia added.

"You see!" Ichigo yelled as he ran towards it. "I told you!"

Renji ran after him, but Rukia stayed behind somewhat, still shocked at the fact that the gate was still there.

"I don't understand... How is it- still there?" she gasped.

"It doesn't matter as long as we can still get through it! I'm sure there's an explanation waiting for us on the other side!" Ichigo replied, still running.

Renji, however, slowed his pace and walked back to her, extending a hand.

"Come on, Rukia," he said. "Let's go home."

She smiled up at him and took the hand offered her.

"Right."

...

Needless to say, the trio was ecstatic as they exited the gate on the other side.

"Hey! Yoruichi! What was with that lie, huh? You said we only had twenty-four hours, but here you are with..." Ichigo trailed off as he saw Yoruichi lying against the wall, seemingly unconscious.

"Ah! There you guys are! Finally I can close this gate!" Urahara said. The gate disappeared as the ex-Soul Reaper fell to his knees.

"Urahara-san!" Rukia gasped as all three of them ran up to him.

"Don't worry! I'm fine," the shopkeeper replied.

"I don't understand... What happened?" Renji asked.

"Well, Yoruichi never did believe that you would be able to get out of the Shadow Land with your quest completed in only twenty-four hours, so as soon as you guys left, she started to teach me how to keep the gate open when she ran out of energy. Needless to say, we were both surprised when suddenly our energy began to be sucked out of us. Couldn't stop them in time, huh? Oh, well; at least you it ended before anything really happened. I highly doubt any of the town's inhabitants will remember that little incident anyway. When I woke up, I realized that all of Yoruichi's spare energy had been used up, so I took her place and opened the gate again. It's a good thing you came now, too, I have no idea how long I could have held it open with my limited spiritual energy."

The trio simply stared at him with blank faces.

"And yet, you still had the energy to rant on like that?" Renji asked.

"Well, you asked!" Urahara smiled.

"Well, yeah, this is all good and all, but right now I think we have to help Uryu," Ichigo said impatiently.

"Right," Rukia agreed. "Urahara-san, Uryu's spiritual pressure has been almost completely exhausted. For a Soul Reaper it would only mean a transfer of spiritual pressure from another Soul Reaper, but for a Quincy..."

"You would need another Quincy's spiritual pressure to give him," Urahara finished. "Well, that's a problem."

"But, don't you remember?" Ichigo asked. "There is another Quincy who can give his spiritual pressure to Uryu!"

...

"No."

"What? Why not? He's you son, for crying out loud!" Ichigo shouted.

"If he was weak enough to exhaust his spiritual pressure like that, then I think you should just let him die," the white-haired man replied.

"WHAT?" Ichigo yelled.

"Ichigo, calm down-" Rukia started.

"NO! No, I won't 'calm down'! You listen here, Mr. Ishida! Do you have any idea how much we care about your son? Well, here's a clue- we went to the most depressing world ever created, walked through a fog that tried to kill us, faced a crazy bounty hunter who could use elemental powers, killed countless Dusk and Void, and defeated a half-insane Dusk leader in his final form!"

"Kurosaki..."

"Then, we even blew up the whole **** village!"

"Kurosaki."

"And if that isn't enough, we dragged his body back here hoping that you would help him because he's our friend! We care about him! And if you can't see th-"

"Kurosaki!"

Ichigo finally stopped his long rant and turned to stare at the man who had been trying to get his attention.

"I could really care less if my son chose to go die in that forsaken world," began the Quincy. He paused for a moment to observe all of the faces staring at him from in front of his desk, Ichigo's looking as if he would murder the next person to come within his reach.

"But I suppose you just won't leave me alone if I don't comply to your request, correct?"

"You can bet on it," Ichigo growled.

"Well, then, I suppose I'll just have to do as you ask," said Ryuken Ishida as he stood from his desk.

"Yeah, I thought so," Ichigo stated.

Little did Ryuken know that Urahara and Yoruichi had sensed his concerned aura ever since the trio had first brought Uryu from the Shadow Land. In fact, they could sense it when Uryu had left this world as well. No matter how much Ryuken didn't want to admit it, he would have helped Uryu even if Ichigo hadn't threatened him. Both Urahara and Yoruichi followed him out of the room flashing secret smiles at each other.

For such was the nature of any parent, even Ryuken Ishida.

...

In case any of you are wondering, I still used the word 'trio' to describe the main group during this chapter since Uryu wasn't exactly conscious to be considered a member of the group.


	16. The Pride of a Quincy

Uryu Ishida slowly began to open his eyes, the process being slightly difficult considering they were gummed together slightly with sleep.

_What? How long have I been asleep..._

"Hey! I think he's waking up!" gasped a high voice.

_Inoue..._

"Ishida-kun? Ishida-kun!"

"Careful, Inoue, don't crowd him; give him some room."

_Urahara-san..._

"Uryu? Hey, Uryu? You awake?"

_Ichigo..._

Finally, after a few tries, he managed to open his eyes slightly, grunting slightly as light entered his vision.

"Finally! It's about time!" Ichigo said with a smile, leaning back into the chair beside the bed the Quincy currently occupied. Suddenly, Uryu shot up.

"Yurushi! What-"

"Don't worry about him," Ichigo smirked. "He's long gone."

"Wh- What?" Uryu stammered.

"We killed him when we went to rescue you," Ichigo replied.

"That's right... I remember seeing you..."

Suddenly, Uryu caught Ichigo's face with his fist, sending the latter flying out of the chair.

"What- What was that for?" he yelled.

"You idiot! Why did you come after me! How did you find me! What-" Uryu suddenly cut off. "Wait, did you say 'we'?"

"Yeah," Ichigo said, pushing himself off of the floor.

"But, weren't Inoue and Chad... Wait! You guys were injured, weren't you? What happened?"

"It's all right, Ishida-kun. Chad and I have been awake for a while now."

"But you didn't honestly go to that dreadful place, did you?" Uryu asked.

"No, they didn't. It was me, Renji, and Rukia who went to rescue you," Ichigo replied before giving a sinister smile. "Then we blew the whole place up."

"Oh, really? How very resourceful..." Uryu sweat-dropped.

"Yeah, speaking of Rukia and Renji, where are they?" Orihime asked, looking around.

"They had to go back to the Soul Society and report in," replied Ichigo. "But I'm sure they'll be back soon."

Uryu turned back to Orihime and Chad. "So, you guys are ok?"

"Yeah; I woke up as soon as the Dusk named Yurushi was killed. Apparently, he had me under some sort of spell," Chad replied.

"And I woke up soon after that, so we're perfectly fine!" Orihime added, smiling. "We were just really worried about you."

"What?" Uryu asked. "How long was I out?"

"About two weeks," replied Chad.

"What?" Uryu shouted. "But why-"

Suddenly, Uryu noticed a figure lurking in the doorway.

"R- Ryuken?" he stammered. The man was gone before anything else was said.

"What- What was he doing here?" Uryu asked, still shocked.

"I imagine you're pretty confused about a lot of things; don't worry, we'll fill you in if you feel you're ready," Urahara said.

"Well, of course I am!" Uryu stated.

"Yup, he's ready," Ichigo said, rolling his eyes.

Uryu promptly threw a pillow at him.

"Ishida-kun! Please, don't strain yourself too much!" Orihime said.

"Yeah, come on, Uryu! Can't you take a joke?" Ichigo asked, smiling as the Quincy ran out of pillows to throw at him.

Urahara sighed. "This is going to take a while..."

...

"Hey, Uryu!" Ichigo yelled, entering the room a few days after the Quincy awoke. "Huh?"

He stared at the room a while before it finally occurred to him that it was empty.

"Urahara-san? Where's Uryu?" he asked as the shopkeeper came around the corner.

"Huh? Oh..." he replied, remembering an incident that occurred earlier in the day as he talked with the irritated-looking Quincy:

_"Listen, here, Urahara-san- I appreciate what you've done for me, but I swear if I have to spend one more day in this same room I'm going to turn it into a shooting range for my bow!"_

Rivers of 'tears' flowed down the ex-Soul Reaper's face. "Naturally, I had to let him out or else I would risk damage to my precious shop!"

"What about damage to Uryu?" Ichigo yelled. "He's still not really recovered yet!"

"Relax, relax," Urahara said. "I'm sure he's fine. If he had the strength to threaten me the way he did, I'm sure he's strong enough to wander around outside. I believe he told me that he was going back to his apartment."

Ichigo sighed. "I'd better go check on him, then, huh?"

"Oh, I knew you'd be willing!" Urahara said dramatically. "What undying friendship!"

Ichigo exited the room, leaving Urahara to nurse a newfound bump on his head.

...

"Finally, a real shower," Uryu muttered to himself as he walked out of the bathroom, still towel-drying his hair.

"Well, I'm glad you enjoyed it."

If teenagers could die of a severe heart attack combined with a stroke, Uryu would have dropped dead where he stood.

"ICHIGO!" he yelled. "WHAT ARE YOU DOING IN MY APARTMENT- AGAIN? Ugh! You're lucky I get dressed in the bathroom and not out here!"

"Yeah, I'm pretty sure that's a sight I don't want to see no matter how close of a friendship we have..." Ichigo said, blushing.

There was a short silence between the two occupants of the room before Uryu finally cleared his throat.

"So, ummm, just what _are_ you doing in my apartment, Ichigo?"

"Oh, uhhhh, I was just- well- I was," Ichigo stammered. Uryu simply stared at him.

"I was just checking up on you..."

"Ugh! For goodness' sake, Ichigo; I'm not an invalid!" said Uryu. "I've been feeling just fine all day."

"Oh, well, that's good," Ichigo said, looking at the ground.

After a few more minutes of nothing, Uryu broke the silence again with a sigh.

"It's hard to believe all that happened while I was- well- you know..."

"Yeah..." Ichigo replied.

"Ichigo?"

"Yeah?"

"Thank you."

Ichigo finally looked up and stared at Uryu, only now it was the Quincy's turn to stare at the floor.

"I- I was a real idiot... I believed so many lies... I can't believe I was so stupid! I put the whole town in danger- the Soul Society, too! All because I was too naive to think for myself..."

"Uryu! Don't say that!" Ichigo said, shocked. "I admit myself that those Dusk were a real piece of work! They could have made me believe my mother was a komodo dragon if they wanted to!"

Uryu chuckled slightly.

"Thank you, Ichigo. Even now, you haven't given up on me... You went all the way to that dreadful world just to save me... Even though I didn't want to be saved, you still never gave up... And you still haven't given up... And for that, I thank you," Uryu said, finally meeting Ichigo's eyes with his own. "And I'm sorry for causing you so much trouble."

"Hey, don't mention it! Just, don't make it a habit, either..." Ichigo replied.

At that, Uryu laughed.

"Yeah, Renji told me the same thing before all that even started," he said.

"Oh, uhhhh, well then..." Ichigo stammered.

"Don't worry, I'm finished being serious for now," Uryu said with a smile.

"Oh! Okay..." Ichigo replied. "By the way, Uryu?"

"Yeah?"

"You're welcome."

Before Uryu could reply, however, there was a knock at the door.

"Ishida-kun? Are you in there?"

Uryu opened the door to reveal Orihime and Chad.

"Oh, good! You are here! Oh, and Kurosaki-kun is here, too!" Orihime said.

"Inoue, Chad- please come in!" Uryu smiled.

"You know, Tatsuki-kun called me today and told me the strangest news! She said that..."

As Orihime continued her rambling, Uryu spared a glance to all of his friends.

_It's nice that Orihime's back to her old self again. Of course, nothing can really change that. And Chad, too; he's still the same as always. I suppose, this is what Grandfather meant by something I want to protect... It may not be the same with those before me, but friendship is the true pride of this Quincy, no matter how cliché it may sound. Ichigo and I have never gotten along better, as well, though he still drives me insane sometimes..._

Suddenly, Uryu realized something.

"By the way, Ichigo, just how DID you get into my apartment?"

...

Well, that's it then! It's rather annoying, though... I was hoping to make this a 15-chapter-even story... Oh, well; I guess it's a good thing that it's longer than I originally expected. In fact, I originally thought this up to be a one to two chapter story... I've pretty much been free-writing it this whole time! Anyway, it will probably be a while until I do another long story, though I do have a bunch of one-shots in mind, so be on the lookout!

I'd like to thank all of you awesome reviewers out there who took some time out of your day to comment on my story:

margo-pol- You were the very first person to review my story, and you also reviewed many chapters after that, so thank you VERY much! Oh, and don't worry; I'm not a very big Orihime fan, either, so she won't be a main character in any of my stories. I hope you enjoyed this story and any other stories I'm going to write about your "Uryuu-chan". ;)

Haddrell- You were the second to review my story, and you have been reviewing every chapter since! You have helped me SO much it isn't even funny! I can't tell you how many times I checked my inbox just waiting for your reviews to come! You were very kind to me and you also told me things that would help improve the story, so thank you EXTRA SUPER much! Oh, and don't worry, I will DEFINITELY be writing more stories focusing on Uryu! I hope you will enjoy them!

EmpressSaix- You have been reviewing my story ever since chapter two, giving me the courage to keep going and good advice to help with the story! Thank you for calling my story a 'good thing' and for encouraging me to continue writing! Your reviews were MUCH appreciated and I hope that you will continue to read my stories in the future! I also love the whole Ryuken/Uryu=father/son relationship, so some of my stories might focus on that!

Mary Lou- You were very encouraging to me! Even though the story was already a few chapters in, you still reviewed all of the chapters before then, too! I'm glad that my story intrigued you so much and I am hoping to hear from you again about my stories in the future!

shin no juria- You came in at chapter four, when my story was just beginning to get slightly more popular. Thank you very much for your reviews and I'm happy to know that you took such great interest in my story! I hope that you will look for any stories I will post in the future, because I already have a few one-shots in mind! Thank you again!

ReadReedRed- You came in during chapter four and told me that this story interested you and you couldn't wait until the next chapter. Thank you so much for that! It made my day! All of your reviews afterwards were greatly appreciated as well. I only hope that the other stories I will be posting will catch your interest as much as this one did! Thank you!

Smitty- You were the third new reviewer to come in at chapter four, telling me that my story was 'cool'. Well, thank you! I'm glad you thought so! I'd very much appreciate it if you could find the time to read a few of the one-shots I will be posting soon, too! Who knows, maybe you'll find them to be 'cool' as well!

sindy-You came in at chapter five wondering what would happen next. I admire your curiosity and I'm glad that you enjoyed the story! I will be uploading some more soon, if you're interested! Thank you very much!

Sokulski- You entered at chapter five and have been telling me ever since to continue the story and that you couldn't wait to know what happened next. Thank you so much for your interest and encouragements! I'm glad you enjoyed my story and I hope that you will continue to enjoy my others in the future!

Mina Ravenclaw- You entered at chapter six. Thank you for your reviews on my story. I'm glad that I changed your mind about stories with Uryu as the main character! Please keep an eye out for my other stories in the future!

CyborgMelody- You came in at chapter seven saying that you loved the plot. Well, thank you; so did I! lol! Thanks for your reviews! Look for some of my other stories in the future if you find the time, please!

I Palindrome I- You came in at chapter ten. Thank you for your comment about how well I can paint a battle scene! It was not easy, I'll tell you that much! And don't worry, I'm sure that you will be able to do so yourself soon, too! Please keep a lookout for any of my stories in the future, if you can! Thanks again!

dukefan01- You came in at chapter twelve and were very ecstatic about my updating soon. Thank you for liking the suspense, as well; I'm glad I made your day! I hope that you will continue to read my stories in the future!

Yokai Hebitori- You didn't come in until chapter fourteen, but that doesn't mean your review wasn't appreciated! It was very much appreciated! Thank you so much for your encouraging words! I'm glad that I've done a 'KUDO JOB'! Please continue to read my stories in the future if you find the time!

Also, I'd like to thank all of the reviewers who encouraged me while I was sick. Thank you all very much; that was very kind of you.

So ends my first story on FanFiction- "Pride of a Quincy".

Until next time,

~GothLoner~


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